In the week ending March 21, initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 282,000, a decline of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 291,000. The four-week moving average, a less volatile gauge of underlying labor market conditions, also fell to 297,000, a decline of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 305,000. Claims trended downward following the end of the recession and have remained near the prerecession trough for about a year, continuing to signal a strengthening labor market.
