US initial jobless claims dropped by 11,000 last week to a total of 200,000, the US Department of Labor reported today. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000.

Economists polled by Bloomberg had forecast 210,000 applications for the latest week.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of claims fell by 500 in the week ended May 28 to a level of 206,500.

On the other hand, the continuing claims for the week ended May 21 fell by 34,000 from the previous week’s revised level to 1,309,000 — the fewest since Dec. 27, 1969.