by Calculated Risk on 1/05/2012 08:40:00 AM

The DOL reports (press release added):

In the week ending December 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 372,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 387,000. The 4-week moving average was 373,250, a decrease of 3,250 from the previous week's revised average of 376,500.

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 373,250.

This is the lowest level for the 4-week average since June 2008.

And here is a long term graph of weekly claims:

The 4-week moving average is still falling and is now well below 400,000.

This suggests fewer layoffs and more payroll jobs added in December.

All current Employment Graphs