by Calculated Risk on 9/08/2016 08:33:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending September 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 259,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 263,000. The 4-week moving average was 261,250, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 263,000.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims. This marks 79 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1970.

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 decreased to 261,250.

This was lower than the consensus forecast of 264,000. The low level of claims suggests relatively few layoffs.