Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims decline to 334,000

The DOL reports:

In the week ending July 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 334,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 358,000. The 4-week moving average was 346,000, a decrease of 5,250 from the previous week's revised average of 351,250.

The previous week was revised down from 360,000.

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 decreased to 346,000.

The 4-week average has mostly moved sideways over the last few months.  Claims were below the 344,000 consensus forecast.