In the week ending January 17, initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 307,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 317,000 (from 316,000). The four-week moving average, a less volatile gauge of underlying labor market conditions, rose to 307,000—the highest since mid-July—from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 300,000 (from 298,000). Despite churn in the data during the December-to-January survey periods, including the four-week moving average rising by 7,000, the trend in claims data continues to point to a strengthening labor market.
