by Calculated Risk on 9/06/2012 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports:

In the week ending September 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 365,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 377,000. The 4-week moving average was 371,250, an increase of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 371,000.

The previous week was revised up from 374,000.

The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since January 2000.



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 increased to 371,250.

This was below the consensus forecast of 370,000.



And here is a long term graph of weekly claims:

All current Employment Graphs