In the week ending March 7, initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 289,000, a decline of 36,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 325,000 (from 320,000). The four-week moving average, a less volatile gauge of underlying labor market conditions, also fell to 302,000, a decline of 4,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 306,000 (from 305,000). This week's figures point to an economy with a strengthening labor market.
