In the week ending September 24, initial claims for unemployment insurance ticked up 3,000 from the previous week to 254,000. The four-week moving average, a less volatile gauge that helps even out short-run swings in the data, fell 2,250 to 256,000, which matched an April reading as the lowest average since December 1973. Jobless claims remained below 300,000 for 82 consecutive weeks, the longest such stretch since 1970.
