by Calculated Risk on 1/13/2011 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports on weekly unemployment insurance claims:

In the week ending Jan. 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 445,000, an increase of 35,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 410,000. The 4-week moving average was 416,500, an increase of 5,500 from the previous week's revised average of 411,000.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims for the last 40 years. It is difficult to compare directly to the '70s and '80s because the labor force is larger now and other changes.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased this week by 5,500 to 416,500.

Although weekly claims increased sharply this week - to the highest level since October - the four week average is still much lower than a few months ago.