by Calculated Risk on 5/27/2010 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports on weekly unemployment insurance claims:

In the week ending May 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 460,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 474,000. The 4-week moving average was 456,500, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average of 454,250.
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The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 15 was 4,607,000, a decrease of 49,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,656,000.

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 increased this week by 2,250 to 456,500.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The current level of 460,000 (and 4-week average of 456,500) is still high, and suggests ongoing weakness in the labor market.

Still disappointing ... the 4-week average has been moving sideways for almost five months.