Initial Unemployment Claims - Still Not Good

In the week ending Aug. 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 432,000 (consensus 448,000), a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 445,000. The 4-week moving average was 445,750, an increase of 7,250 from the previous week's revised average of 438,500.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent for the week ending Aug. 9, unchanged from the prior week's revised rate of 2.5 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Aug. 9 was 3,362,000, a decrease of 17,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,379,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,330,250, an increase of 66,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,264,000.
The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 3.005 million.