While claims were expected to improve from last week's pre-revision print of 367K, we got not only a miss but a deterioration, with the print coming at 370K on expectations of 365K. But all is well, for the media already has its spin: "Unchanged", because you see last week's number was as usual pushed up higher to 370K, hence no change. Of course, next week this week's 370K will be revised to 374K or something, but the algos will be long past caring. What is worse is that the exodus from the cliff continues, as those off EUCs and Extended benefits declined by another 68K (and down by 1.14 million from this time last year): people who no longer get their weekly allowance from Uncle Sam and having been without a job for 99 weeks are pretty much guaranteed to not find a job, thus making them rely exclusively on disability and foodstamps.
Initial Claims are stabilizing around 20% higher than pre-crisis levels - not exactly positive...
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and bear in mind that Initial Claims is just one part of the reality that is our unemployment picture (as the aggregate of continuing, emergency and extended benefits hows here)...
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As for the revision history... why only fools see propaganda where only propaganda exists:
h/t John Lohman