The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance was 273,250 last week, down 8,000 from the previous week’s unrevised average, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the US Department of Labor.

The four-week moving average decreases the volatility of the weekly numbers. Total initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended Feb. 13 were 262,000, down 7,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level.

No special factors affected this week’s initial claims.

Bloomberg reported initial claims dropped to the lowest level since Nov. 21, signaling durability in the labor market. Claims fell below the median forecast in its survey of economists, which called for 275,000 in initial claims.

“Even though it gives us only one side of the labor-market ledger, jobless claims are effectively a gauge on overall business sentiment,” Bloomberg quoted Millan Mulraine, deputy head of US research and strategy at TD Securities USA LLC in New York. The report is “a good indication that businesses are more inclined to hold on to what they have and add to that, as opposed to reduce their payrolls.”