Unemployment Insurance Claims Rise Just 4,000 in Latest Week
Summary
- Initial claims modestly less than forecast.
- Continuing claims decrease, and prior week revised down slightly.
- Insured unemployment rate still 1.2%, now since January 2024.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance were 223,000 in the week ended April 5, up 4,000 from the prior week. This moderate increase was less than the forecast amount of 228,000, according to the Action Economics Forecast Survey. These amounts are all seasonally adjusted. The four-week moving average was also 223,000; this was unchanged from the previous week’s amount, so jobless claims have been very steady over the last several weeks.
The total number of unemployment insurance beneficiaries – also known as continuing claims – was 1.850 million in the week ended March 29, down from 1.893 million the week before. That prior week was revised from 1.903 million published a week ago. The four-week moving average was 1,867,750, marginally less than the prior week’s average of 1,868,000.
The insured unemployment rate, that is, the number of beneficiaries as a percentage of covered employment, was yet again 1.2%, and the modest revision to the prior week’s number of beneficiaries reduced that insured unemployment rate to 1.2% from the 1.3% reported last week, so it is now continuous at 1.2% since January 6, 2024, when it briefly dipped to 1.1%.
Economic conditions vary widely across states and territories. In the week ended March 22, the highest unemployment rates were in Rhode Island (2.68%), New Jersey (2.64%). California (2.41%), Massachusetts and Minnesota (both 2.28%) and Washington (2.25%). The lowest rates were in Florida (0.35%), Alabama (0.41%), Virginia (0.46%), Tennessee (0.50%), and North Carolina (0.52%). Rates in other notable states include New York (1.87%), Pennsylvania (1.71%), Illinois (2.06%) and Texas (1.17%). 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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