by Calculated Risk on 9/13/2012 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports:

In the week ending September 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 382,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 367,000. The 4-week moving average was 375,000, an increase of 3,250 from the previous week's revised average of 371,750

The previous week was revised up from 365,000.

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 375,000.

This was above the consensus forecast of 370,000.

Update via MarketWatch: "The government said about 9,000 claims stemmed from the storm that passed through the Gulf Coast in late August."


And here is a long term graph of weekly claims:

Mostly moving sideways this year.

All current Employment Graphs