by Calculated Risk on 8/04/2016 08:33:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending July 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 269,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 266,000. The 4-week moving average was 260,250, an increase of 3,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 256,500.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims. This marks 74 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1973.

The previous week was unrevised.

The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 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 increased to 260,250.

This was above the consensus forecast of 265,000. The low level of claims suggests relatively few layoffs.