Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims decrease to 194,000

The DOL reported:
In the week ending February 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 194,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 1,000 from 196,000 to 195,000. The 4-week moving average was 189,500, an increase of 500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 250 from 189,250 to 189,000.
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 189,500.

The previous week was revised down.

Weekly claims were below the consensus forecast.