by Calculated Risk on 3/20/2014 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports:

In the week ending March 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 320,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 315,000. The 4-week moving average was 327,000, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 330,500.

The previous week was unrevised at 315,000.

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 declined to 327,000.

This was below the consensus forecast of 325,000.  The 4-week average is moving down slightly and is close to normal levels during an expansion.