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In a report this morning, the Labor Department said that initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped to 425,000 last week, marking a decline of 10,000 and matching economists' forecasts. The level remains well above the 2007 average of 321,000, indicating a weak job market. The 4-week average of new claims fell 6,000 to 440,250.
Meanwhile, the number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits rose 64,000 to 3.423 million, the most since November 2003. The 4-week avera...