Number of unemployment claims down for 2nd week

The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits fell to 650,000 during the week ending Oct. 30 from 677,000 the week before, the Labor Department said.

It was the second straight weekly decline and dropped claims to their lowest level since the week of Sept. 11, when 612,000 new claims were filed. The total number of Americans actually receiving benefits also fell slightly, edging down to 4,673,000 during the week ended Oct. 23.