The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 262,750 last week, up 3,000 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 revised downward by 500.

The four-week moving average decreases the volatility of the weekly numbers. Total initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended Aug. 6 were 266,000, down 1,000 from the previous week’s level, which was revised downward by 2,000.

This marks 75 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1970.

No special factors affected this week’s initial claims.

Bloomberg reports employers are retaining and hiring more workers and slowly raising wages, indicating consumer spending will keep boosting the world’s largest economy in the second half of the year. Initial claims fell less than the median forecast in its survey of economists, which called for initial claims to decline to 265,000.