New claims for jobless benefits fell by 5,000 last week to 180,000 as labor demand continued to be robust and layoffs remained historically low. This marked the 13th week in a row that new jobless claims stayed below the pre-pandemic level in 2019 at 214,000. Our long-term measure that strips out ... READ MORE >
initial jobless claims
Chart of the day: Initial jobless claims point to strong jobs report
New filings for jobless claims last week fell slightly, to 184,000, holding steady below the average pre-pandemic level for the 12th straight week. The number of new claims points to a labor market that remains tight, with layoffs at multi-decade lows. The data released by the Labor Department on ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims remain low as consumer sentiment rises unexpectedly
Initial jobless claims last week rose to 185,000 yet remained significantly below the pre-pandemic level as the tight labor market discouraged layoffs, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. Our preferred measure for new filings for unemployment benefits—the 13-week moving average—continued to ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Initial jobless claims lowest in 54 years
New filings for jobless benefits fell to 166,000 last week—the fewest since 1968—as millions of job vacancies remained unfilled, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. That marked the tenth week in a row that the headline number for U.S. initial jobless claims stayed below the pre-pandemic average ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Initial jobless claims remain low
New claims for jobless benefits increased by 14,000 last week to 202,000, continuing to stay below the pre-pandemic level in 2019. The increase was likely temporary as the labor market remained tight. Looking at the 13-week moving average—our preferred measure—new claims have stayed mostly flat in the ... 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 >
Initial jobless claims fall below pre-pandemic level while housing starts improve
Economic data released Thursday showed improvement in both weekly U.S. jobless claims for the week ending March 12 and housing starts in February. The number of building permits remained elevated, despite a small decrease on the month. New filings for jobless claims, a proxy for job layoffs, fell below ... 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 >