The U.S. four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 9,500 in the week ended March 22 to 317,750 from the previous week’s revised figure of 327,250, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The four-week moving average decreases the volatility of the weekly numbers. Total initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week fell by 10,000 to a total of 311,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 321,000.

The four-week average is the lowest since 2007 if the autumn reports distorted by California’s computer problems are excluded, MarketWatch reports.