Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Increase to 480,000

The DOL reports on weekly unemployment insurance claims:

In the week ending Jan. 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 480,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 472,000. The 4-week moving average was 468,750, an increase of 11,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 457,000.
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The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Jan. 23 was 4,602,000, an increase of 2,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,600,000.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

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 11,750 to 468,750.

This is the third weekly increase in a row for the four week average, and the average is now 28,000 above the low in early January. Both the level of claims, and the recent increase in the 4-week average, are concerning and suggest continued job losses.