by Calculated Risk on 11/23/2016 08:39:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending November 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 251,000, an increase of 18,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 2,000 from 235,000 to 233,000. The 4- week moving average was 251,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 500 from 253,500 to 253,000.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims. This marks 90 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1970.
emphasis added

The previous week was revised down.

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 251,000.

This was at the consensus forecast. The low level of claims suggests relatively few layoffs.