WASHINGTON, June 26 - Applications for initial U.S. jobless aid plunged to three-month lows last week, the government said on Thursday in a report showing a better-than-expected improvement in the still-weak job market. The Labor Department said 404,000 idled workers filed for unemployment insurance payments at state offices in the June 21 week, down 22,000 from a revised 426,000 a week earlier and the lowest since March 22. Wall street economists had forecast first-time claims would fall to 415,000 compared with the department's original estimate of 421,000 in the June 14 week. Claims have stalled above the 400,000 mark for the past 19 weeks, indicating resistance among employers to start rehiring before they are convinced an economic recovery is firmly in place. For the past three weeks, new claims have dropped by 44,000. The four-week moving average number of jobless claims, regarded by economists as a truer reflection of the market because the measure smooths volatility, fell to 428,250 in the June 21 week from 433,500 in the previous week.//