Initial job claims were up slightly for the first week of 2013, according to a report released late last week by the U.S. Department of Labor. For the week ending January 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 371,000 – 4,000 above the previous week’s revised figure. The four-week moving average was 365,750, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week’s revised average. Unadjusted for seasonal variation, the advance figure of initial claims under state programs was 552,043 for the week ending January 5, an increase from the previous week. There were 646,219 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.

Link: News Release