U.S. Unemployment Insurance Claims Down 6,000 in June 22 Week
Summary
- Initial claims slightly less than expected.
- Continuing claims did rise in June 15 week, but prior week revised down somewhat.
- Insured unemployment rate holds at 1.2%, same since March 2023.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased by 6,000 in the week ended June 22 to 233,000, seasonally adjusted, from 239,000 the week before; that earlier week was revised from 238,000 reported before. The Action Economics Forecast Survey participants expected 235,000 in the latest week. This latest week’s amount makes the four-week moving average 236,000, up from 233,000 the previous week.
The total number of insured unemployment, also known as continued weeks claimed, was 1.839 million in the week ended June 15, up from 1.821 million the prior week. That earlier amount was revised from 1.828 million previously reported. The four-week moving average of continued weeks claimed was 1.816 million through the June 15 week, up from 1.804 million through the June 8 week.
The insured unemployment rate, or the number of continued weeks claimed as a percent of covered employment, was once again at 1.2%. It has been at that amount continuously since March 11, 2023.
The insured unemployment rate varies widely among individual states and territories. In the week ended June 8, the highest rates were in New Jersey (2.24%), California (2.14%), Minnesota (1.80%), Washington (1.70%) and Rhode Island (1.64%). The lowest rates were in South Dakota (0.29%), Kansas (0.37%), Florida (0.40%), Kentucky (0.42%) and Virginia 0.43%). Rates in other notable states include New York (1.55%, Pennsylvania (1.60%), Illinois (1.58%) and Texas (1.15%). These state rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Data on weekly unemployment claims are from the Department of Labor, 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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