Jobless Claims Fall to Four-Month Low

Initial jobless claims fell to a four-month low last week.

Claims dropped 24,000 to 435,000 in the week ending Nov. 6, The Department of Labor said. The revised figure for the previous week was 459,000.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters forecast claims dropping to 450,000, from an initially reported 457,000.

The improving job market will help the U.S. economy. Still, job growth will have to increase to achieve a meaningful reduction in unemployment.

"There is improvement in the labor market though it's not dramatic," Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC, told Bloomberg News before the report. "We'll have pretty robust growth next year, which will be both a reflection and a cause of improved labor market conditions."

The four-week moving average, a clearer measure of unemployment trends, fell 10,000 to 446,500. The revised average for the previous week was 456,500.