Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Decrease to 223,000

The DOL reported:

In the week ending February 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 223,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 238,000 to 239,000. The 4-week moving average was 253,250, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 255,000 to 255,250.
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 up.

Weekly claims were lower than the consensus forecast.