by Calculated Risk on 4/12/2012 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports:

In the week ending April 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 380,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 367,000. The 4-week moving average was 368,500, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week's revised average of 364,250.

The previous week was revised up to 367,000 from 357,000.

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 increased to 368,500.

The 4-week moving average has been moving sideways at this level for about two months.

And here is a long term graph of weekly claims:



This is the highest level for weekly claims since January.

All current Employment Graphs