Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims decrease to 284,000

The DOL reported:

In the week ending September 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 284,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 298,000. The 4-week moving average was 263,250, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 250,250. This is the highest level for this average since August 13, 2016 when it was 263,250.

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma impacted this week's initial claims.
emphasis added

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 263,250.

This was below the consensus forecast.

The report next week will include the reference period (includes the 12th of the month) for the September employment report - and will provide a hint on the impact of the hurricanes on employment in September.