Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Increase to 248,000

The DOL reported:

In the week ending August 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 248,000, an increase of
21,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 227,000. The 4-week moving average was 231,000, an increase of
2,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 228,250.
emphasis addedThe 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 increased to 231,000.

The previous week was unrevised.

Weekly claims were above the consensus forecast.