The figure levels out the skewed numbers associated with holiday season hiring and layoffs.

The four week average of initial claims is at 347,250, down slightly from the previous four week average of 348,000 with 2.761 million continuous claims being filed, the report said.

The latest total at 348,000 new claims is an improvement on the spike seen in the week ending Jan. 26., when 378,000 new claims were filed.