by Calculated Risk on 12/23/2010 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports on weekly unemployment insurance claims:

In the week ending Dec. 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 420,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 423,000. The 4-week moving average was 426,000, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 423,500.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since January 2000.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased this week by 3,000 to 426,000.

In general the four-week moving average has been declining ... and that is good news.