by Calculated Risk on 1/31/2013 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reports:

In the week ending January 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 368,000, an increase of 38,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 330,000. The 4-week moving average was 352,000, an increase of 250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 351,750.

The previous week was unrevised.

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 slightly to 352,000.

Weekly claims were above the 350,000 consensus forecast, however the 4-week average is near the levels of early 2008.