U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Were Steady in Latest Week
Summary
- Initial claims for unemployment insurance were unchanged in the June 7 week.
- Total beneficiaries rose by 54,000 in the May 31 week.
- The insured unemployment rate ticked up to 1.3%.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance were 248,000 in the week ending June 7, unchanged from the revised level in the week ending May 31. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 247,000. The Action Economics Forecast Survey had expected 241,000. These data are seasonally adjusted by the Department of Labor. The 4-week moving average was 240,250, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s average of 235,250, which was revised up 250 from 235,000. It also is the highest level for this average since August 26, 2023, when it was 245,000.
The total number of unemployment insurance beneficiaries – also known as “continuing claims” – in the week ended May 31 was 1.956 million, up 54,000 from 1.902 million, revised from 1.904 million in the prior week. The Department of Labor reported that this is the highest level for insured unemployment since November 13, 2021, when it was 1,970,000. The 4-week moving average was 1.915 million, an increase of 19,750 from the previous week’s level of 1.895 million. This is the highest level for this average since November 27, 2021, when it was 1.924 million.
The insured unemployment rate for the week ending May 31, that is, the number of unemployment beneficiaries as a % of covered employment, edged up to 1.3% from the prior week’s 1.2%.
Economic conditions vary widely across states and territories. In the week ended May 24, the highest unemployment rates were in New Jersey (2.22%), Washington (2.06%), California (2.03%), Rhode Island (1.96%), and Massachusetts (1.87%). The lowest rates were in South Dakota (0.28%), Florida (0.36%), Alabama (0.45%), North Carolina (0.47%), Tennessee (0.48%), and Kentucky (0.49%). Rates in other notable states include Illinois (1.61%), New York (1.55%), Pennsylvania (1.46%) and Texas (1.13%). 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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