by Calculated Risk on 9/28/2017 08:35:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending September 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 272,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 259,000 to 260,000. The 4-week moving average was 277,750, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 268,750. This is the highest level for this average since February 6, 2016 when it was 277,750.

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma impacted this week's claims.
emphasis added

The previous week was revised up.

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 increased to 277,750.

This was slightly above the consensus forecast.  The recent increase in claims is due to the hurricanes.