WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell by 21,000 last week, Labor Department data showed on Thursday, but stayed at levels in line with a shrinking labor market and economy.
Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 509,000 in the week ended November 29 from an upwardly revised 530,000 the previous week.
A Labor Department official said there were no special factors influencing the report. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 537,000 new claims versus a previously reported count of 529,000 the week before.
The four-week moving average of new jobless claims, a better gauge of underlying labor trends because it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose to 524,500 from 518,250 the week before, the highest since the week of December 18, 1982, when a reading of 554,500 was recorded.
Continuing claims jumped to 4.087 million in the week ended November 22, the latest data available, from 3.998 million the prior week.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
