by Calculated Risk on 12/17/2015 08:35:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending December 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 271,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 282,000. The 4-week moving average was 270,500, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 270,750.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims.

The previous week was unrevised at 282,000.

The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971.

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 to 270,500.

This was close to the consensus forecast of 270,000, and the low level of the 4-week average suggests few layoffs.