By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - First-time claims for state unemployment benefits inched lower in the latest week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The number of initial claims in the week ending Oct. 24 fell 1,000 to 531,000. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for claims to fall to 524,000. The four-week average of initial claims fell 6,000 to 526,250, the lowest level since early January. Meanwhile, the number of Americans receiving state jobless benefits fell 148,000 to 5.80 million in the week ending Oct 17. This is the lowest level since late March. The four-week moving average of continuing claims fell 78,750 to 5.96 million, the lowest level since mid-April.
