• Prior week Initial claims 199K revised to 200K
• Initial claims 209K vs 202K estimate
• 4 week MA of initial claims 199K vs 199K prev.
• Continuing claims 1.777M vs 1.800M.  Prior 1.799M
• 4 week MA of continuing claims 1.785M vs 1.791M last week. 

Looking at the trend the initial claims remains int he range indicative of a steady jobs market. No hire. No fire, continues to be the trend.  These numbers reflect that dynamic. 

Versus a year ago:

• Initial claims 209K vs 224K last year
• Continuing claims are lower at 1.777M vs 1.942M last year.  

Overall that is more positive from that perspective.  

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.