by Calculated Risk on 12/12/2019 08:37:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending December 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 252,000, an increase of 49,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 203,000. This is the highest level for initial claims since September 30, 2017 when it was 257,000. The 4-week moving average was 224,000, an increase of 6,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 217,750.
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 increased to 224,000.

This was much higher than the consensus forecast.