U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Eased in Latest Week
Summary
- Initial claims for unemployment insurance eased in the week ended June 14.
- Total beneficiaries decreased by 6,000 in the June 7 week.
- The insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.3%.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance were 245,000 in the week ending June 14, a decrease of 5,000 from 250,000 in the week ending June 7, revised up from 248,000. The Action Economics Forecast Survey had expected 245,000. These data are seasonally adjusted by the Department of Labor. The 4-week moving average was 245,500, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week’s average of 240,750, revised up from 240,250. It also is the highest level for this average since August 19, 2023, when it was 246,000.
The total number of unemployment insurance beneficiaries – also known as “continuing claims” – in the week ended June 7 was 1.945 million, down 6,000 from 1.951 million in the prior week, revised from 1.956 million. The 4-week moving average was 1.926 million, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s average of 1.913 million. This is the highest level for this average since November 20, 2021, when it was 2.004 million.
The insured unemployment rate for the week ending June 7, that is, the number of unemployment beneficiaries as a % of covered employment, was unchanged at 1.3% from the prior week.
Economic conditions vary widely across states and territories. In the week ended May 31, the highest unemployment rates were in New Jersey (2.30%), California (2.20%), Massachusetts and Washington (both 2.10%), and Rhode Island (2.00%). The lowest rates were in South Dakota (0.30%), Florida (0.40%), and Alabama, Iowa, North Carolina and Virginia (all at 0.50%). Rates in other notable states include Illinois and New York (both 1.60%), Pennsylvania (1.50%) and Texas (1.20%). 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. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics Forecast Survey in the AS1REPNA database.
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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