by Calculated Risk on 7/01/2010 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports on weekly unemployment insurance claims:

In the week ending June 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 472,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 459,000. The 4-week moving average was 466,500, an increase of 3,250 from the previous week's revised average of 463,250.
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The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending June 19 was 4,616,000, an increase of 43,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,573,000.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since January 2000.

The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased this week by 3,250 to 466,500.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average.

Initial weekly claims have been at about the same level since December 2009. Historically the current level of 472,000, and 4-week average of 466,500, would suggest ongoing weakness in the labor market.