Initial claims totaled 498,000 for the week ended May 1, against the Dow Jones estimate of 527,000.
The claims decline comes a day before the Labor Department releases its nonfarm payroll count for April.
However, continuing claims actually ticked higher last week, rising 37,000 to just below 3.7 million.
At the state level, only Kentucky reported a notable increase, with its claims rising 4,657, according to unadjusted numbers.
A separate economic report showed that nonfarm business labor productivity accelerated 5.4% in the first quarter, well above the 4.5% Dow Jones estimate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.