by Calculated Risk on 12/29/2011 08:39:00 AM

The DOL reports:

In the week ending December 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 381,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 366,000. The 4-week moving average was 375,000, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week's revised average of 380,750.

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 375,000.

This is the lowest level for the 4-week average since June 2008.

And here is a long term graph of weekly claims:

Although initial claims increased this week, the 4-week moving average is still falling and is now well below 400,000.



All current Employment Graphs