The U.S. four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 9,750 in the week ended Jan. 4 to 349,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 358,750, 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 15,000 to a total of 330,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 345,000.