Updated: 19-Apr-18 09:31 ET

Initial Claims for the Week Ended Apr 14

Updated: 19-Apr-18 09:31 ET

Highlights

• Initial claims for the week ending April 14 decreased by 1,000 to 232,000 (Briefing.com consensus 226,000).
• Continuing claims for the week ending April 7 decreased by 15,000 to 1.863 million.

Key Factors

• The four-week moving average for initial claims increased by 1,250 to 231,250
• The four-week moving average for continuing claims increased by 6,750 to 1,858,750
• Initial claims have held below 300,000 for 163 straight weeks

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from this report is that it covered the period in which the survey for the April employment report was conducted, so it will fuel expectations for a strong gain in nonfarm payrolls.

Category	Apr 14	Apr 7	Mar 31	Mar 24	Mar 17
Initial Claims	232K	233K	242K	218K	227K
4-Wk Moving Avg	231K	230K	228K	225K	225K
Continued Benefits		1863K	1878K	1818K	1876K
4-Wk Moving Avg		1859K	1852K	1852K	1863K