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 >
continuing claims
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 >
Initial jobless claims tick up but labor market remains tight
New filings for jobless claims rose on a seasonally adjusted basis to 222,000 for the week ending Nov. 27, beating expectations and continuing the overall improvement of the labor market, according to government data released Thursday. After a sharp drop in the week before Thanksgiving, the new jobless ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Decline in initial jobless claims slows
New filings for jobless claims showed little change for the week ending Nov. 13 with a decrease of 1,000 from the prior week to 268,000, according to data from the Labor Department released on Tuesday. The steady weekly declines in new claims in early October have slowed significantly in the first two ... READ MORE >
Jobless claims hit pandemic low as labor market recovers
New filings for jobless claims dropped to another pandemic low last week as jobs remain plentiful while employers continue to compete for employees. Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 281,000 for the week ending Oct. 23, according to government data released Thursday. The same figure ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims fell more than expected as labor market gained momentum
First-time claims for jobless benefits—a proxy for layoffs—declined more than expected for the week ending Oct. 2 in a sign that the labor market continues to be tight and that layoffs are not a major issue in the economy. The headline claims for newly unemployed workers posted a significant 10.4% drop ... READ MORE >