The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 246,750 last week, down 10,250 from the previous week’s average, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the US Department of Labor. This is the lowest level for this average since Nov. 3, 1973, when it was 244,000.

The previous week’s average was revised up by 500.

The four-week moving average decreases the volatility of the weekly numbers. Total initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended Jan. 14 were 234,000, down 15,000 from the previous week’s level, which was revised upward by 2,000.

No special factors affected this week’s initial claims.

MarketWatch reports the low level of claims could be influenced in part by the tail end of the holiday season that stretches from Thanksgiving to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Some people put off filing claims during the holidays.