Initial Jobless Claims Contained ......for now

Weekly Initial Jobless Claims fell to a 2 month low of 322,000 in the week to January 5th. Investors may breathe a sigh of relief from the latest numbers but for how long? I suspect it will only be a matter of time before the 4 week moving average moves ticks up into the 350,000 - 400,000 danger zone. From the Department of Labor:

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending Jan. 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 322,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 337,000. The 4-week moving average was 341,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average of 344,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.0 percent for the week ending Dec. 29, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.1 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Dec. 29 was 2,702,000, a decrease of 52,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,754,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,701,750, an increase of 17,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,684,750.