(Adds details from Labor Dept report)
WASHINGTON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits dipped more than expected last week, a government report showed on Wednesday, signaling continuing healing of the struggling labor market.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 407,000 in the week ending Nov. 20, the Labor Department said. It was the lowest since the week ending July 19, 2008 just before the financial crisis intensified.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a modest decline in claims to 435,000.
Other measures of unemployment aid also pointed to some easing of the toughest job market in decades. The four week moving average of new jobless claims, considered a truer test of underlying labor trends, eased to 436,000, the lowest since the week ending Aug. 9, 2008.
The number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid plummeted by a surprising 142,000 to 4.18 million the week ending Nov. 13, the lowest since November 2008. Analysts forecast insured unemployment to ease to about 4.3 million.
The number of people on emergency unemployment benefits fell 160,191 to 3.8 million in the week ended Nov. 6. A total of 8.5 million people were claiming unemployment benefits during that period under all programs.