In the week ending July 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 284,000 from 303,000 the week prior. The four-week moving average, a less volatile gauge of underlying labor market conditions, was down to 302,000, the lowest number seen since the four-week period ending May 19, 2007. Claims have been fairly low for the past nine weeks, averaging just under 308,000, significantly less than the 346,000 figure seen in the nine week period ending July 20 of last year.
