by Calculated Risk on 8/24/2017 08:32:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending August 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 234,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 232,000. The 4-week moving average was 237,750, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 240,500.
emphasis added

The previous week was unrevised.

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 237,750.

This was close to the consensus forecast.

The low level of claims suggests relatively few layoffs.