In the week ending January 3, initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 294,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 298,000. The four-week moving average, a less volatile gauge of underlying labor market conditions, held at 291,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average has remained below 300,000 for 17 straight weeks, a continued sign of a strengthening labor market. The last time they were consistently below the 300,000 level was in 2006.
