U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Eased in Latest Week
Summary
- Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 10,000 in the week ended June 21.
- Total beneficiaries rose by 37,000 in the June 14 week.
- The insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.3%.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance were 236,000 in the week ending June 21, a decrease of 10,000 from 246,000 in the week ending June 14, revised from 245,000. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 245,000. These data are seasonally adjusted by the Department of Labor. The 4-week moving average was 245,000, a decrease of 750 from the previous week’s average of 245,750, revised from 245,500.
The total number of unemployment insurance beneficiaries – also known as “continuing claims” – in the week ended June 14 was 1.974 million, up 37,000 from 1.937 million in the prior week, revised from 1.945 million. This is the highest level for continuing claims since November 6, 2021, when it was 2.041 million. The 4-week moving average was 1.941 million, up 16,750 from the previous week’s average of 1.924 million, revised from 1.926 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 14, that is, the number of unemployment beneficiaries as a % of covered employment, was unchanged at 1.3% for the third consecutive week.
Economic conditions vary widely across states and territories. In the week ended June 7, the highest unemployment rates were in New Jersey (2.20%), California (2.05%), Washington (2.03%), Rhode Island (1.98%), and Massachusetts (1.96%). The lowest rates were in South Dakota (0.27%), Florida (0.36%), Alabama and North Carolina (both 0.47%), and Virginia (0.52%). Rates in other notable states include Illinois (1.62%), New York (1.57%), Pennsylvania (1.56%) 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. 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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