by Calculated Risk on 9/20/2012 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports:

In the week ending September 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 382,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 385,000. The 4-week moving average was 377,750, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised average of 375,750.

The previous week was revised up from 382,000.

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 377,750.

This was above the consensus forecast of 373,000.



And here is a long term graph of weekly claims:

Mostly moving sideways this year, but moving up recently.

All current Employment Graphs