U.S. Initial Jobless Claims

First-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 12,000 to 377,000 in the week ended June 2 from a revised 389,000 the prior week. This number continued the declining trend on the jobless claims that has been intact since the second quarter of 2009. The initial jobless claims continues to stay below the 52 week average which is now at 390,000 levels. I think 390K is the magic number for jobless claims. Over the past 2 years there has been one violation of the 52 week average in May 2011, but this was quickly reversed by a sharp drop from 464K to 430K. So it is important for the trend to continue below the 52 week average and 390,000 is the level to watch that would reverse the downtrend on jobless claims. Watch 390K as an important threshold.