New filings for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week to an eight-month high of 251,000, continuing to show signs of increases in layoffs amid an economic slowdown. That was also the seventh week in a row that new jobless claims stayed above the pre-pandemic average, government data ... READ MORE >
continuing claims
Initial jobless claims remain above pre-pandemic level
New filings for jobless claims exceeded the pre-pandemic level for the third week in a row as labor demand eased while more stories of companies laying off workers made headlines. New claims inched down by only 0.9% last week, to 229,000, from an upwardly revised 231,000 in the prior week, according to ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims exceed pre-pandemic level for second straight week
New filings for jobless benefits last week stayed above the pre-pandemic level for the second week in a row, continuing to signal a resurgence in layoffs as economic activity slowed. With more companies announcing layoffs recently, we expect the upward trend in new jobless claims to continue. There ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Initial jobless claims lowest since 1969
New filings for U.S. jobless benefits last week dropped to the lowest point since 1969 as the tight labor market showed no sign of cooling. The number of new claims fell to 187,000 from 215,000 in the prior week, significantly below the pre-pandemic level in 2019 of 218,000, according to government ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Initial jobless claims inch up
Initial jobless claims inched up by 11,000 last week, most likely a temporary spike as most of the increase came from New York and California with 16,000 and 6,000 new claims, respectively, according to government data released Thursday. Despite the normal fluctuation of the claims data, new filings ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims at lowest point since December as omicron retreats
New filings for jobless benefits fell below the pre-pandemic level for the first time since December as the economy continued to recover from the omicron surge, according to government data released Thursday. New filings—a proxy for layoffs—dropped to 215,000 for the week ending Feb. 26 from an ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Initial jobless claims continue to decline
Initial jobless claims last week continued to trend down toward the pre-pandemic level after a period of temporary increases because of the omicron variant. New filings for the week ending Feb. 19 dropped to 232,000 from 249,000 in the prior week, only 14,000 claims away from the 2019 average. The ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims remain below pandemic level despite seasonal uptick
New filings for unemployment insurance last week ticked up to 207,000 from 198,000, continuing to stay below the pre-pandemic level amid a tight labor market where businesses are holding onto their workers. The headline number for jobless claims has been below the 2019 average of 218,000 for the past ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims remain below pre-pandemic level despite seasonal volatility
New filings for jobless benefits last week advanced to 206,000, remaining below the pre-pandemic level from 2019 after falling to a 52-year low the week before at an upwardly revised 188,000—which many attributed to the seasonal adjustments around the holidays. We expect the claims data to be highly ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims fall to 52-year low amid labor shortages
New filings for jobless benefits dropped to the lowest level since 1969 last week as robust labor demand continued to leave businesses with no choice but to hold on to their workers. The claims fell to 184,000 for the week ending Dec. 4, down from 227,000 in the previous week, according to Labor ... READ MORE >