Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Increase to 230,000

The DOL reported:

In the week ending January 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 230,000, an increase of 23,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 207,000. The 4-week moving average was 210,750, an increase of 6,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 204,500.
emphasis added

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 210,750.

The previous week was unrevised.

Weekly claims were above the consensus forecast, perhaps due to the current COVID wave.