The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance was 268,000 last week, up 750 from the previous week’s downwardly revised 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 March 12 were 265,000, up 7,000 from the previous week’s downwardly revised level. This marks 54 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1973.

No special factors affected this week’s initial claims.

“Underlying demand in the labor market remains very strong,” Kevin Cummins, an economist at RBS Securities Inc. and reportedly the best forecaster of jobless claims over the past two years, told Bloomberg. “The employment gains that we’ve seen over the past few months — there’s no reason to expect a break from that recent pretty solid trend.”