In the week ending November 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 291,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 293,000. This is the tenth straight week claims have been lower than 300,000, which hasn't happened since 2000. The four-week moving average, a less volatile gauge of underlying labor market conditions, rose to 288,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of about 286,000. Claims data continue to point to strengthening labor market conditions.
