Weekly initial claims for the week ending June 25 decreased by 2,000 to 231,000 (Briefing.com consensus 234,000).

Continuing claims for the week ending June 18 decreased by 3,000 to 1.328 million.

The four-week moving average for initial claims increased by 7,250 to 231,750.

The four-week moving average for continuing claims increased by 5,500 to 1,319,500.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending June 11 was 1,314,265, an increase of 17,678 from the previous week. In the same week a year ago, there were 14,657,642 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs.

The key takeaway is that the improving trend in initial claims has basically stalled out, suggesting there is apt to be more bad news than good news in future jobless claims reports.