U.S. Jobless Claims Up Just 2,000 in September 7 Week
Summary
- Initial claims, at 230,000, equal forecast amount.
- Continued claims rise 5,000 in August 31 week.
- Insured unemployment rate still at 1.2%.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance were 230,000 seasonally adjusted in the week ended September 7, up slightly from the prior week’s 228,000. The latest amount equals the Action Economics Forecast Survey of 230,000. The four-week moving average of claims is 230,750, up from the August 31 week’s 230,000 but a bit lower than the 231,750 in the period ended August 24.
The total number of beneficiaries of unemployment insurance was 1,850,000 seasonally adjusted in the week ended August 31, up from the previous week’s 1,845,000; this number is also known as continuing claims. Over the past four weeks, it has averaged 1,852,500, down very modestly from 1,854,750 in the four weeks ended August 24.
In the August 31 week, the insured unemployment rate was yet again 1.2%. That is the number of beneficiaries as a percentage of covered employment and has held at the amount since March 11, 2023.
Economic conditions vary widely across individual states and territories. In the week ended August 24, the highest covered unemployment rates were in New Jersey (2.76%), Rhode Island (2.55%), California (2.11%), Puerto Rico (1.99%) and Minnesota (1.89%). The lowest rates were in South Dakota (0.24%), Kansas (0.35%), Virginia and Kentucky (each 0.41%), Florida (0.42%) and North Carolina (0.43%). Rates in other notable states include New York (1.77%), Pennsylvania (1.68%), Illinois (1.55%) and Texas (1.11%).
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.
Carol Stone, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Carol Stone, CBE came to Haver Analytics in 2003 following more than 35 years as a financial market economist at major Wall Street financial institutions, most especially Merrill Lynch and Nomura Securities. She has broad experience in analysis and forecasting of flow-of-funds accounts, the federal budget and Federal Reserve operations. At Nomura Securites, among other duties, she developed various indicator forecasting tools and edited a daily global publication produced in London and New York for readers in Tokyo. At Haver Analytics, Carol is a member of the Research Department, aiding database managers with research and documentation efforts, as well as posting commentary on select economic reports. In addition, she conducts Ways-of-the-World, a blog on economic issues for an Episcopal-Church-affiliated website, The Geranium Farm. During her career, Carol served as an officer of the Money Marketeers and the Downtown Economists Club. She has a PhD from NYU's Stern School of Business. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has a weekend home on Long Island.
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