The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 5,000 last week to 267,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the US Department of Labor.

The four-week moving average decreases the volatility of the weekly numbers. Total initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended Nov. 7 were 276,000, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised level.

No special factors affected this week’s initial claims.

Bloomberg reported the median forecast in its survey of economists projected claims would fall to 270,000.

“Demand for labor is pretty strong at this point,” Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James Financial Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida, told Bloomberg before the report. “It indicates a more positive outlook for companies.”