The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose 222,250 last week, up 2,500 from the previous week’s unrevised average, the US Department of Labor reported.

The four-week moving average decreases the volatility of the weekly numbers. Total initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended May 26 fell to 221,000, down 13,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level.

Claims-taking procedures in Puerto Rico and in the Virgin Islands still have not returned to normal.

MarketWatch reported the decrease in initial claims suggests that a recent increase in the rate of layoffs stemmed mostly from seasonal quirks whose effects are already fading. Its poll of economists had forecast initial claims to total 225,000.