The DOL reports on weekly unemployment insurance claims:

In the week ending May 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 444,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 448,000 [revised up from 444,000]. The 4-week moving average was 450,500, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised average of 459,500.



The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 1 was 4,627,000, an increase of 12,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,615,000..

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 decreased this week by 9,000 to 450,500.The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The current level of 444,000 (and 4-week average of 450,500) is still high, and suggests ongoing weakness in the labor market.Although declining over the last few weeks, the 4-week average first declined to this level at the end of December 2009, and has been at this level for almost five months.