by Calculated Risk on 7/10/2014 08:34:00 AM

The DOL reports:

In the week ending July 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 304,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 315,000. The 4-week moving average was 311,500, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 315,000.

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

The previous week was unrevised at 315,000.

The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since January 1971.

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 311,400.

This was lower than the consensus forecast of 316,000.  The 4-week average is now at normal levels for an expansion.