Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims increase to 243,000

The DOL reported:

In the week ending March 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 243,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 223,000. The 4-week moving average was 236,500, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 234,250.
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 increased to 236,500.

This was higher than the consensus forecast.

The low level of claims suggests relatively few layoffs.