In the week ending December 13, initial claims for unemployment insurance declined to 289,000 from the previous week's slight upwardly revised level of 295,000 (revised from 294,000). The four-week moving average, a less volatile gauge of underlying labor market conditions, was 299,000, a decline from the previous week's revised average of just under 300,000 (revised from 299,000). The four-week moving average of jobless claims has been below 300,000 for the past 14 weeks, continuing to reflect a strengthening labor market.
