U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Edged Down in Latest Week
Summary
- Initial claims declined by 1,000 from the prior week.
- Continuing claims declined by 38,000 from the prior week to the lowest level since September 2024.
- The insured unemployment rate was unchanged.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance edged down 1,000 to 209,000 in the week ending January 24, from 210,000 in the week ending January 17, revised from 200,000. The four-week moving average of initial claims was 206,250 in the January 24 week, up 2,250 from 204,000 revised from 201,500 in the January 17 week.
Federal government employees initially filed 798 (NSA) jobless insurance claims in the week ended January 17, after filing 1010 (NSA) claims in the week ended January 10.
The total number of unemployment insurance beneficiaries – also known as “continuing claims” –decreased by 38,000 to 1.827 million in the week ending January 17, from 1.865 million in the week ending January 10, revised from 1.849 million. This is the lowest level for continuing claims since September 21, 2024, when it was 1.825 million. The four-week moving average was 1.867 million in the latest week, down from 1.875 million, revised from 1.871 million in the prior week. The insured unemployment rate remained at 1.2% in the week of January 17, unchanged from previous 7 weeks.
Federal government employees’ continuing benefits claims were 13,360 (NSA) in the week ending January 10, up from 12,977 (NSA) in the week ending January 3.
The insured unemployment rate varied greatly across individual states and territories. In the week ending January 10, the highest unemployment rates were in Rhode Island (2.91%), New Jersey (2.77%), Massachusetts (2.68%), Washington (2.67%), Minnesota (2.49%), California (2.33%), Puerto Rico (2.24%), Montana (2.08%), and Michigan (2.07%). The lowest rates were in Florida (0.30%), North Carolina (0.42%), Louisiana (0.44%), and Alabama (0.48%). Rates in other notable states include Illinois (2.30%), New York (2.06%), Pennsylvania (1.96%), and Texas (1.21%). These state data are not seasonally adjusted.
Data on weekly unemployment claims are from the Department of Labor itself, not the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They begin in 1967 and are contained in Haver’s WEEKLY database and summarized monthly in USECON. Data for individual states are in REGIONW back to December 1986.
Data on weekly unemployment claims are from the Department of Labor itself, not the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They begin in 1967 and are contained in Haver’s WEEKLY database and summarized monthly in USECON. Data for individual states are in REGIONW back to December 1986.
Kathleen Stephansen, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Kathleen Stephansen is a Senior Economist for Haver Analytics and an Independent Trustee for the EQAT/VIP/1290 Trust Funds, encompassing the US mutual funds sponsored by the Equitable Life Insurance Company. She is a former Chief Economist of Huawei Technologies USA, Senior Economic Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group, Chief Economist of the American International Group (AIG) and AIG Asset Management’s Senior Strategist and Global Head of Sovereign Research. Prior to joining AIG in 2010, Kathleen held various positions as Chief Economist or Head of Global Research at Aladdin Capital Holdings, Credit Suisse and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette Securities Corporation.
Kathleen serves on the boards of the Global Interdependence Center (GIC), as Vice-Chair of the GIC College of Central Bankers, is the Treasurer for Economists for Peace and Security (EPS) and is a former board member of the National Association of Business Economics (NABE). She is a member of Chatham House and the Economic Club of New York. She holds an undergraduate degree in economics from the Universite Catholique de Louvain and graduate degrees in economics from the University of New Hampshire (MA) and the London School of Economics (PhD abd).
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