Jobless claims fall from 7-year high

First-time filings for unemployment insurance decline, but remain higher than expected.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of out-of-work Americans filing new claims for unemployment insurance last week edged off a seven-year high but was higher than economists' estimates, according to a government report released Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial filings for state jobless benefits decreased by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 478,000 in the week ended Oct. 4.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected the number to decline to 475,000. For the week ended Sept. 27, unemployment claims spiked to an upwardly revised 498,000. That week, jobless claims were the highest recorded since the 517,000 claims filed in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Labor Department attributed about 17,000 of the new claims to the lingering effects of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. That helped increase the seasonally adjusted four-week moving average by 8,250 to 482,500 from 474,250 the week prior. That compares with 317,000 in the year-earlier period.

The four-week moving average tends to smooth fluctuations in the data. A level at or above 400,000 for the four-week average was present throughout the last two recessions.