Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims decrease to 225,000

The DOL reported:

In the week ending November 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 225,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 240,000 to 241,000. The 4-week moving average was 228,750, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 226,750 to 227,000.
emphasis added

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 228,750.

The previous week was revised up.

Weekly claims were lower than the consensus forecast.