by Calculated Risk on 1/20/2011 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports on weekly unemployment insurance claims:

In the week ending Jan. 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 404,000, a decrease of 37,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 441,000. The 4-week moving average was 411,750, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average of 415,750.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims for the last 10 years. The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims decreased this week by 4,000 to 411,750.

This was lower than consensus expectations of a decline to 420,000. The sharp decline in the four week average over the last few months is good news.