Initial Claims Hit Another Post-Pandemic Low
Initial claims fell to their lowest level since March 2020, the second-straight week of dramatic drops, the Labor Department reported yesterday.
The report said for the week ending April 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims fell to 547,000, a decrease of 39,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The previous week’s level revised up by 10,000 from 576,000 to 586,000. The four-week moving average fell to 651,000, a decrease of 27,750 from the previous week’s revised average. This is also the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate fell to 2.6 percent for the week ending April 10, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 10 fell to 3,674,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for insured unemployment since March 21, 2020 when it was 3,094,000. The previous week’s level revised down by 23,000 from 3,731,000 to 3,708,000. The four-week moving average fell to 3,713,000, a decrease of 41,750 from the previous week’s revised average to the lowest level since March 28, 2020 when it was 3,611,750.
The report said the advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 566,479 in the week ending April 17, a decrease of 56,554 (or -9.1 percent) from the previous week. Seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 17,548 (or -2.8 percent) from the previous week. Labor reported 4,221,556 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020. In addition, for the week ending April 17, 52 states reported 133,319 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.8 percent during the week ending April 10. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 3,862,890, a decrease of 50,774 (or -1.3 percent) from the preceding week. Seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 17,145 (or -0.4
percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 11.2 percent and the volume was 16,257,202.
The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending April 3 rose to 17,405,094, an increase of 491,674 from the previous week. Labor reported 12,492,421 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2020.
