US jobless claims decline to 254,000, 4-week low

US initial jobless claims declined by 11,000 in the week ended Nov 4 to a seasonally adjusted 254,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

This reading was the lowest level in four weeks and came in below the 260,000 new claims expected by analysts. Jobless claims for the previous week were left unrevised at 265,000, which was the highest level since early August.     

Continuing jobless claims rose by 18,000 to 2,041,000 in the week ended Oct 28, above the 2,030,000 expected.