The U.S. four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 250 in the week ended Feb. 1 to 334,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 333,750, 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 20,000 to a total of 331,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 351,000.

MarketWatch reports the figures signal an improvement in the labor market.