by Calculated Risk on 4/24/2014 08:37:00 AM

The DOL reports:

In the week ending April 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 329,000, an increase of 24,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 304,000 to 305,000. The 4-week moving average was 316,750, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 312,000.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims.

The previous week was revised up from 304,000.

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 316,750.

This was above the consensus forecast of 313,000.  The 4-week average is close to normal levels for an expansion.