The U.S. four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance last week reached its lowest level since Feb. 25, 2006, falling by 4,000 to a total of 293,500 from the previous week’s upwardly revised figure of 297,500, 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 ended Aug. 2 fell by 14,000 to a total of 289,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised figure of 303,000.

MarketWatch reports that’s a sharply lower figure than Wall Street expected.