The number of US workers who filed new claims for unemployment benefits fell 24,000 last week to 435,000, the federal government reported Wednesday, continuing a recent see-saw pattern that gives mixed signals about the labor market.

Economists polled by MarketWatch expected initial claims to fall to a seasonally-adjusted 450,000 in the week ended Nov. 6.

The four-week average of initial claims, meanwhile, sank to its lowest level in two years — down 10,000 to 446,500. The moving average smooths out quirks in the weekly data and is considered a more accurate gauge of employment trends.

Continuing claims declined by 86,000 to 4.30 million.

A total of 8.62 million people were getting some kind of state or federal benefit in the week ended Oct. 23, down almost 308,000 from the prior week.

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