by Calculated Risk on 1/09/2014 08:34:00 AM

The DOL reports:

In the week ending January 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 330,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 345,000. The 4-week moving average was 349,000, a decrease of 9,750 from the previous week's revised average of 358,750.

The previous week was revised up from 339,000.

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 349,000.

Weekly claims are frequently volatile during the holidays because of the seasonal adjustment.  The four-week should decline further next week.