by Calculated Risk on 3/22/2007 09:00:00 AM

From the Department of Labor:

In the week ending March 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 316,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 320,000. The 4-week moving average was 326,000, a decrease of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average of 329,750.

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the four moving average weekly unemployment claims since 1968. Although the four week moving average has recently been trending upwards, the level is still low and not much of a concern.