by Calculated Risk on 5/22/2014 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports:

In the week ending May 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 326,000, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 297,000 to 298,000. The 4-week moving average was 322,500, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 323,250 to 323,500.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims.

The previous week was revised up from 297,000.

The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since January 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 322,500.

This was above the consensus forecast of 310,000.  The 4-week average is close to normal levels for an expansion.