Number of initial unemployment filings declines to 631,000. Continuing claims hit fresh record.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance fell last week, with the number of people collecting benefits overall hitting a fresh record high of 6.27 million, according to a government report released Thursday.

In the week ended April 25, there were 631,000 initial jobless claims filed, down 14,000 from a revised-up 645,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said.

Economists expected 640,000 new claims, according to a consensus survey by Briefing.com.

The 4-week moving average of initial claims was 637,250, down 10,750 from the previous week.

"The past few weeks' claims data are beginning to look increasingly like a peak," wrote Ian Shepherdson, economist at High Frequency Economics, in a research note.

But it remains unclear whether that peak was a correction from the quick rise in claims after Lehman Brothers failed in September, or if it marks "a real cyclical turning point," Shepherdson wrote.

"We are inclined to think the former is more likely ... Still, flat or falling claims have to be better than rising claims," he wrote.

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