U.S. Unemployment Insurance Claims Jump 33,000 in Week Ended October 5
Summary
- Largest weekly increase in initial claims since July 2021.
- Continuing claims up 42,000 in Sept. 28 week, largest since last January.
- Insured unemployment rate holds at 1.2%.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance were 258,000 seasonally adjusted in the week ended October 5, up 33,000 from the prior week’s 225,000, which was not revised. The October 5 amount was the largest weekly increase since 49,000 in the week ended July 17, 2021. The Action Economics Forecast Survey had expected 230,000 in the October 5 week. Press reports indicate that this latest jump is due to the impact of Hurricane Helene. With the October 5 week amount, the four-week moving average of initial claims was 231,000, up from 224,250 the week before.
In the week ended September 28, the total number unemployment benefit recipients – also known as insured unemployment – was 1.861 million seasonally adjusted, up from 1.819 million the week before. This was the largest increase since the week ended January 20. The four-week moving average of insured unemployment was 1.832 million, up from 1.827 million the prior week.
Also, in the week ended September 28, the insured unemployment rate was still 1.2%. This is the number of beneficiaries as a percent of covered employment; the rate has been at 1.2% continuously since March 11, 2023.
Economic conditions vary widely across states and territories. In the week ended September 21, the highest unemployment rates were in New Jersey (2.21%), California (2.03%), Puerto Rico (1.93%), Rhode Island (1.80%) and Washington (1.69%). The lowest rates were in South Dakota (0.22%), North Dakota (0.35%), Florida (0.38%), Kentucky (0.39%) and Virginia and North Carolina (each 0.41%). Rates in other notable states include New York (1.47%), Illinois (1.43%), Pennsylvania (1.34%) and Texas (1.05%). These state rates 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.
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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