Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Increase to 207,000

The Department of Labor reported that in the week ending September 30, there were a total of 207,000 seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims. This represents an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The 4-week moving average, which provides a more stable measure of the trend, decreased to 208,750, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week’s revised average.

The graph below shows the 4-week moving average of weekly unemployment claims since 1971. The dashed line represents the current average.

This increase in initial unemployment claims comes after several weeks of relatively low claims. While the previous week’s number was revised up by 1,000, the overall level of claims remains close to the consensus forecast. It will be important to monitor these numbers in the coming weeks to see if there is any sustained increase in unemployment.

Source: Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Increase to 207,000