The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 256,000 last week, down 2,250 from the previous week’s average, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the US Department of Labor. The previous week’s average was also revised slightly downward by 250.

The four-week moving average decreases the volatility of the weekly numbers. Total initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended Sept. 24 were 254,000, up 3,000 from the previous week’s downwardly revised level.

This marks 82 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1970.

No special factors affected this week’s initial claims.

Bloomberg reports the four-week average of jobless claims hit the lowest level since April. And the number of applications to collect jobless benefits rose less than forecast last week, indicating employers are leery of dismissing workers as the labor market tightens. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for 260,000 initial claims. The number of Americans already on benefit rolls declined to the lowest level since 2000.