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The U.S. Labor Department said first-time jobless benefits claims dropped by 42,000 to 346,000 in the week that ended last Saturday.
The drop erases much of the gains of the past three weeks when claims rose by
49,000. The department revised last week's initial claims figure from 385,000 to
388,000.
The four-week rolling average for the week increased by 3,000 to 358,00.
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 30 were in
Pennsylvania, where claims rose by 3,015 and New Jersey with an increase of
2,409.
The largest decreases were in Texas, where initial claims fell by 3,489 and
California with 2,661 fewer first-time claims.
