The U.S. four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 3,500 in the week ended Feb. 8 to 336,750 from the previous week’s revised figure of 333,250, 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 rose by 8,000 to a total of 339,000 from the previous week’s unrevised figure of 331,000.