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Jobless claims drop
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November 16, 2000: 8:52 a.m. ET
First-time filings for benefits fall by 20,000 but remain above 300,000
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to 326,000 for the week ended Nov. 11 from a revised 346,000 the previous week, the government reported Thursday.
Economists polled by Briefing.com had forecast U.S. jobless claims of 315,000 for the period. U.S. jobless claims had been at their highest since 354,000 in the Jan. 9, 1999, week.
 The Labor Department's four-week moving average of claims, which generally provides a more accurate picture of jobless trends, was 322,250 for the period, up from 318,000.
That four-week average is the highest since 329,000 in the Jan. 23, 1999, week.
Continued claims were reported at 2,225,000 for the Nov. 4 week, the latest period for which data are available, down from a revised 2,203,000 in the prior period.
Seventeen states reported an increase in claims of more than 1,000 in the week ended Nov. 4, the latest period for which the data are available. Among the largest were: Michigan,15,598, California, 12,683, and Illinois, 5,322. 
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