by Calculated Risk on 11/07/2013 08:36:00 AM

From the BEA: Gross Domestic Product, 3rd quarter 2013 (advance estimate)

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the third quarter of 2013 (that is, from the second quarter to the third quarter), according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 2.5 percent.

I'll have more on GDP later, but this was better than expected.

The DOL reports:

In the week ending November 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 336,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 345,000. The 4-week moving average was 348,250, a decrease of 9,250 from the previous week's revised average of 357,500.

The previous week was up from 340,000.

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

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 348,250.

Some of the recent increase was due to processing problems in California (now resolved) and the four-week average will probably decline again next week.