By Rex Nutting
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- First-time claims for state unemployment benefits declined by 38,000 to 550,000 last week, while the number of people who continued to collect benefits rose by 69,000 to 6.31 million the prior week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of new claims dropped to 555,250, the lowest level since January. On Friday, the Labor Department will report on July unemployment figures. Economists expect the jobless rate to rise to 9.7% and for 275,000 nonfarm payrolls to be lost.
