The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance was 270,250 last week, down 1,750 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. 27 were 278,000, up 6,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level.

No special factors affected this week’s initial claims.

Bloomberg reported the four-week average dropped to the lowest level since the end of November and that the initial claims level is consistent with steady improvement in the labor market, even though claims exceeded the median forecast in its survey of economists, which called for 270,000 in initial claims.

“There will be some volatility but that’s normal,” Jim O’Sullivan, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics Ltd in Valhalla, N.Y., told Bloomberg. “Claims will more or less stay at low levels. The job market remains strong.”