In the week ending January 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 265,000, a decrease of 43,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since April 15, 2000 when it was 259,000.

The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 307,000 to 308,000. The 4-week moving average was 298,500, a decrease of 8,250 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 306,500 to 306,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.8% for the week ending January 17, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.

According to a related Bloomberg report, the slump in claims, while probably overstated by seasonal fluctuations, helps ease concern that firings were inching up as companies fretted over slowing global growth.

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