Reply #2: No doubt all of a sudden the 4 week average will be the one that really matters

[dmallind]

When it was poo-pooed as smoke and mirrors when the average was lower than current week claims.

Of course the sad part about being consistent is that it generally IS the four week average that is more meaningful, so that means this week's numbers are in the blah to slightly pessimistic range. Still - any look at initial claims however organized only looks at one side of the puzzle and without knowing how many hired we'll not be able to know whether things are getting better or not.

I confess I have not looked lately - anybody seen any early predictions of April employment gains/losses yet?