The DOL reports:



In the week ending October 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 388,000, an increase of 46,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 342,000. The 4-week moving average was 365,500, an increase of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 364,750.

Click on graph for larger image.

The previous week was revised up from 339,000.The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since January 2000.The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased to 365,500. This is just above the cycle low for the 4-week average of 363,000 in March.Weekly claims were higher than the consensus forecast of 365,000.And here is a long term graph of weekly claims:Mostly moving sideways this year, but near the cycle bottom. The large swings over the last two weeks were related to timing and technical factors, and is a reason to use the 4-week average.