by Calculated Risk on 5/10/2018 08:35:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending May 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 211,000, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised level of 211,000. The 4-week moving average was 216,000, a decrease of 5,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 221,500. This is the lowest level for this average since December 20, 1969 when it was 214,500.

Claims taking procedures in Puerto Rico and in the Virgin Islands have still not returned to normal.
emphasis added

The previous week was unrevised.

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 216,000.

This was lower than the consensus forecast. The low level of claims suggest few layoffs.