First-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to levels not seen since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in late August. Initial jobless claims fell 8,000 to 323,000 in the week ended Oct. 29, the Labor Department said Thursday. This is the lowest level of claims since the week ended August 27, just before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. The latest initial claims were lower than the 329,000 predicted by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Claims in the previous week were revised to a decrease of 26,000 to 331,000 compared with the initial estimate of a fall of 28,000 to 328,000. The impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is steadily declining. A Labor Department official said only 18,000 of the claims this week were related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, down from 24,000 in the previous week. A total of 520,000 claims have been filed since the deadly storms struck the Gulf Coast in August and September. The department said 1,400 claims were filed in the latest week as a result of Hurricane Wilma, which struck south Florida on October 24. In the latest week, the four-week average of initial claims fell 17,000 to 350,500. This is the lowest level since Sept. 10. Meanwhile, the number of Americans receiving state jobless benefits fell a sharp 44,000 to 2.82 million in the week ending Oct. 22. This is the lowest level since the week ended Sept. 17. The four-week moving average of continuing claims fell 11,750 to 2.85 million. The insured unemployment rate, representing the proportion of eligible workers who are receiving benefits, held steady at 2.2% for the week ended Oct. 22 from the previous week.