The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose 235,750 last week, up 4,000 from the previous week’s unrevised average, the US Department of Labor reported. This is the highest level for this average since Jan. 20, 2018, when it was 237,500. 

The four-week moving average smooths the volatility of the week-to-week numbers. Total initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended Feb. 16 fell to 216,000, down 23,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level.

However, the drop could overstate the health of the labor market as claims for California, Virginia, Hawaii and Puerto Rico were estimated last week because of Monday’s President’s Day holiday.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast claims falling to 229,000. New claims had surged to a 1½-year high of 253,000 late last month from a half-century low of 200,000 in early January, MarketWatch reported. Yet the increase now appears to reflect the usual post-holiday gyrations as companies let go of temporary workers and returned to normal levels of employment.