by Calculated Risk on 12/01/2011 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports:

In the week ending November 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 402,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 396,000. The 4-week moving average was 395,750, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised average of 395,250.

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

Click on graph for larger image.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims decreased this week to 395,750.

This is the third week in a row with the 4-week average below 400,000. This is still elevated, but an improvement over recent months.

And here is a long term graph of weekly claims:





All current Employment Graphs