by Calculated Risk on 3/24/2011 08:39:00 AM

The DOL reports on weekly unemployment insurance claims:

In the week ending March 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 382,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 387,000. The 4-week moving average was 385,250, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 386,750.

Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery.

This graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims for the last 40 years. The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims decreased this week by 1,500 to 385,250.

This is the 4th consecutive week with the 4-week average below the 400,000 level, and although there is nothing magical about 400,000, this is a small positive step for the labor market.