The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose by 7,000 from the previous week to 198,000 on the week ending March 25th, slightly above expectations of 196,000. While surpassing expectations, the result remained at a low level by historical standards and continued to point to a stubbornly tight labor market, in line with the hot payroll figures for February and the Federal Reserve's outlook of low unemployment. The tight job market forces employers to raise wages to attract and keep staff, magnifying inflationary pressure on the American economy and adding leeway for the central bank to continue tightening monetary policy. The four-week moving average, which removes week-to-week volatility, rose by 2,000 to 198,250. On a seasonally unadjusted basis, initial claims rose by 10,906 to 223,913. source: U.S. Department of Labor

Initial Jobless Claims in the United States averaged 367.78 Thousand from 1967 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 6137.00 Thousand in April of 2020 and a record low of 162.00 Thousand in November of 1968. This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Initial Jobless Claims - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. United States Initial Jobless Claims - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on March of 2023.

Initial Jobless Claims in the United States is expected to be 250.00 Thousand by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations.

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United States Initial Jobless Claims



Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2023-03-23 12:30 PM Initial Jobless Claims Mar/18 191K 192K 197K 193K
2023-03-30 12:30 PM Initial Jobless Claims Mar/25 198K 191K 196K 193.0K
2023-04-06 12:30 PM Initial Jobless Claims Apr/01 198K 205.0K


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Initial Jobless Claims 198.00 191.00 Thousand Mar 2023
Continuing Jobless Claims 1689.00 1685.00 Thousand Mar 2023
Productivity 113.25 112.79 points Dec 2022
Labour Costs 128.93 127.92 points Dec 2022
Jobless Claims 4-week Average 198.25 196.25 Thousand Mar 2023
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Claims 0.90 1.55 Thousand Dec 2021

United States Initial Jobless Claims
Initial jobless claims have a big impact in financial markets because unlike continued claims data which measures the number of persons claiming unemployment benefits, Initial jobless claims measures new and emerging unemployment.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
198.00 191.00 6137.00 162.00 1967 - 2023 Thousand Weekly
Volume, SA

News Stream
US Initial Jobless Claims Rise More than Expected
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose by 7,000 from the previous week to 198,000 on the week ending March 25th, slightly above expectations of 196,000. While surpassing expectations, the result remained at a low level by historical standards and continued to point to a stubbornly tight labor market, in line with the hot payroll figures for February and the Federal Reserve's outlook of low unemployment. The tight job market forces employers to raise wages to attract and keep staff, magnifying inflationary pressure on the American economy and adding leeway for the central bank to continue tightening monetary policy. The four-week moving average, which removes week-to-week volatility, rose by 2,000 to 198,250. On a seasonally unadjusted basis, initial claims rose by 10,906 to 223,913, with significant increases in Michigan (+4,465) and Massachusetts (+2,693).
2023-03-30
US Initial Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Fall
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell by 1,000 from the prior week to 191,000 on the week ending March 18th, compared to expectations of 197,000. The result provided further evidence of a stubbornly tight labor market, in line with the hot payroll figures for February and the Federal Reserve's outlook of low unemployment. The tight job market forces employers to raise wages to attract and keep staff, magnifying inflationary pressure on the American economy and adding leeway for the central bank to continue tightening monetary policy. The four-week moving average, which removes week-to-week volatility, fell by 250 to 196,250. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, initial claims fell by 4,659 to 213,425, with notable declines in California (-2,411) and Illinois (-1,135).
2023-03-23
US Jobless Claims Fall More than Expected
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 from the previous week to 192,000 on the week ending March 11th, well below expectations of 205,000. It was the biggest fall since July mostly impacted by the drop in claims in New York, where school workers returned to work after a school break. The result pointed to further evidence of a stubbornly tight labor market, in line with the hot payroll figures for February. The tight job market forces employers to raise wages to attract and keep staff, magnifying inflationary pressure on the American economy. The four-week moving average, which removes week-to-week volatility, fell by 750 to 196,500. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, claims fell by 21,396 to 217,444, with significant decreases noted in New York (-15,305) and California (-2,312).
2023-03-16