Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Increase to 248,000

The DOL reported:

In the week ending July 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 248,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 3,000 from 239,000 to 236,000. The 4-week moving average was 253,250, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 750 from 257,500 to 256,750.
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 decreased to 253,250.

The previous week was revised down.

Weekly claims were above the consensus forecast.