Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Decline Slightly

The DOL reports on weekly unemployment insurance claims:

In the week ending March 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 457,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 462,000. The 4-week moving average was 471,250, a decrease of 4,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 475,500.
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The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 6 was 4,579,000, an increase of 12,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,567,000.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971.

The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims decreased this week by 4,250 to 471,250.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The current level of 457,000 (and 4-week average of 471,250) is still very high, and suggests continuing job losses through the middle of March. Note: There is no way to compare directly between weekly claims, and net payrolls jobs.