by Calculated Risk on 1/12/2017 08:54:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending January 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 247,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 235,000 to 237,000. The 4-week moving average was 256,500, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 1,500 from 256,750 to 258,250.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims. This marks 97 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1970.
emphasis added

The previous week was revised up.

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 256,500.

This was below the consensus forecast (it is difficult to seasonally adjusted during the holidays). The low level of claims suggests relatively few layoffs.