While claims are extremely volatile in July because of summer auto plant shutdowns, the general tone of the report remained consistent with a pick-up in job gains.
The four-week moving average for new claims, which irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 4,500 to 341,250.
Automakers traditionally close assembly plants for retooling in July, but they have either shortened the shutdown period or completely forgone the closures, throwing off the model that the government uses to adjust the data for seasonal variations.
A Labor Department analyst said the volatility remained in the data. No states had been estimated and there was nothing unusual in the state-level data, the analyst said.
Last week's data has no bearing on Friday's employment report for July. The government's closely monitored report is expected to show nonfarm payrolls increased 184,000 last month after rising 195,000 in June, according to a Reuters survey of economists.
The jobless rate is seen ticking down a tenth of percentage point to 7.5 percent. There is a risk payrolls could surprise on the upside after a report on Wednesday showed private employers maintained a higher pace of hiring in July.
The labor market is being closely watched by the Federal Reserve, which on Wednesday offered no indication it planned to reduce its monthly $85 billion in bond purchases at its next meeting in September.
The claims report showed the number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid fell 52,000 to 2.95 million in the week ended July 20.
--By Reuters