by Calculated Risk on 8/12/2010 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports on weekly unemployment insurance claims:

In the week ending Aug. 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 484,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 482,000. The 4-week moving average was 473,500, an increase of 14,250 from the previous week's revised average of 459,250.
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The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending July 31 was 4,452,000, a decrease of 118,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,570,000.

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 14,250 to 473,500.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The 4-week average of initial weekly claims is at the highest level since February, and suggests further weakness in the labor market.