by Calculated Risk on 7/08/2010 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports on weekly unemployment insurance claims:

In the week ending July 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 454,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 475,000. The 4-week moving average was 466,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 467,250.
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The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending June 26 was 4,413,000, a decrease of 224,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,637,000.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since January 2000.

The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims decreased this week by 1,250 to 466,000.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average.

Initial weekly claims have been at about the same level since December 2009. Historically the current level of 454,000, and 4-week average of 466,000, would suggest ongoing weakness in the labor market.