U.S. weekly initial jobless claims fall 9,000

Initial U.S. jobless claims dropped for the second consecutive week, after a large jump last month, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Claims for the week ended Feb. 9 fell 9,000 to 348,000. The prior weekly claims level was revised to 357,000.

The four-week moving average of new claims gained 12,000 to 347,250.

U.S. continuing jobless claims fell 9,000 to 2.76 million.