Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims increased to 217,000 – Info Risk Manage

by Bill McBride on 7/26/2018 08:37:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending July 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 217,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 207,000 to 208,000. The 4-week moving average was 218,000, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 220,500 to 220,750.
emphasis added

The previous week was revised up.

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 218,000.

This was at the consensus forecast. The low level of claims suggest few layoffs.