Initial Jobless Claims Drop to Lowest Level Since 5/18

In what has become a rare occurrence recently, initial jobless claims for the latest week actually came in lower than expected.  While forecasts were calling for a level of 385K, actual claims claim in at 374K, which was the lowest weekly reading since May 18th.

This week's lower than expected reading in jobless claims caused the four-week moving average to drop by 1.5K, which was also the largest drop since May 18th.  You know it has been bad when a 1.5K drop in the four-week moving average is considered something to get excited about.

On a non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) basis, initial jobless claims dropped by 3K, which was actually pretty impressive given the fact that we typically see an increase in claims in the week ahead of July 4th on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.  In fact, you have to go all the way back to 2005 to find a week where NSA claims dropped during the current week.

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