by Calculated Risk on 8/11/2016 08:33:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending August 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 266,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 2,000 from 269,000 to 267,000. The 4-week moving average was 262,750, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 500 from 260,250 to 259,750.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims. This marks 75 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1970.

The previous week was revised down 2,000.

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 262,750.

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