Bailout

Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims decline slightly

By Anonymous

In the week ending May 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 444,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 451,000. The 4-week moving average was 458,500, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average of 463,250.
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The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 24 was 4,594,000, a decrease of 59,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,653,000.

This graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971.

The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased this week by 4,750 to 458,500.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The current level of 444,000 (and 4-week average of 458,500) is still high, and suggests continuing weakness in the labor market.

Although declining over the last few weeks, the 4-week average first declined to this level in December 2009, and has been at this level for about five months.

Full post as published by Calculated Risk on May 06, 2010 (boomark / email).