by Calculated Risk on 1/07/2016 08:33:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending January 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 277,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 287,000. The 4-week moving average was 275,750, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 277,000.

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

The previous week was unrevised at 287,000.

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 275,750.

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