Initial claims for the week ending January 16 declined by 26,000 to 900,000 (Briefing.com consensus 845,000).

Continuing claims for the week ending January 9 decreased by 127,000 to 5.054 million.

The four-week moving average for initial claims increased by 23,500 to 848,000. In the same week a year ago, the average stood at 214,750.

The four-week moving average for continuing claims decreased by 67,000 to 5,126,250. In the same week a year ago, the average stood at 1,749,250.

The total number of continued weeks claims for benefits in all programs for the week ending January 2 was 15,994,519, versus 2,278,239 in the same week a year ago.

The key takeaway from the report should speak for itself. The level of initial claims is still terribly high and indicative of why calls for more jobless assistance are being made.