Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Decrease to 219,000

The DOL reported:

In the week ending September 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 219,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 230,000 to 231,000. The 4-week moving average was 227,500, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 230,750 to 231,000.
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 230,750.

The previous week was revised up.

Weekly claims were below the consensus forecast.