by Calculated Risk on 12/08/2011 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports:

In the week ending December 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 381,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 404,000. The 4-week moving average was 393,250, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average of 396,250.

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

Click on graph for larger image.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims decreased this week to 393,250.

This is the fourth week in a row with the 4-week average below 400,000, and this is the lowest level for claims since February.

And here is a long term graph of weekly claims:





All current Employment Graphs