Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Increase to 227,000

The DOL reported:

In the week ending July 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 227,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 221,000. The 4-week moving average was 228,250, a decrease of 5,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 233,750.
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 decreased to 228,250.

The previous week was unrevised.

Weekly claims were close to the consensus forecast.