by Calculated Risk on 4/14/2016 08:34:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending April 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 253,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 from 267,000 to 266,000. The 4-week moving average was 265,000, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 250 from 266,750 to 266,500.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims. This marks 58 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1973.

The previous week was revised down to 266,000.

Note: 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 265,000.

This was well below the consensus forecast of 270,000. The low level of the 4-week average suggests few layoffs.