Initial Claims at New Pandemic Low

(Chart courtesy Labor Department.)

Initial claims for unemployment insurance continued to drop to near pre-pandemic lows, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

For the week ending September 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims fell to 310,000, a decrease of 35,000 from the previous week’s revised numbers to the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020, when it was 256,000. The previous week’s level revised up by 5,000 from 340,000 to 345,000. The four-week moving average fell to 339,500, a decrease of 16,750 from the previous week’s revised average to the lowest level since March 14, 2020, when it was 225,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.0 percent for the week ending August 28. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 28 fell to 2,783,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week’s revised level to the lowest level for insured unemployment since March 14, 2020, when it was 1,770,000. The previous week’s level revised up by 57,000, from 2,748,000 to 2,805,000. The four-week moving average was 2,840,250, a decrease of 29,000 from the previous week’s revised average to the lowest level for this average since March 21, 2020, when it was 2,071,750.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 284,287 in the week ending September 4, a decrease of 8,005 (2.7 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 26,906 (9.2 percent) from the previous week. Labor reported 857,896 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020. In addition, for the week ending September 4, 44 states reported 96,198 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate fell to 1.9 percent during the week ending August 28, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 2,600,083, a decrease of 74,670 (2.8 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 52,914 (2.0 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 9.1 percent and the volume was 13,325,972.

Continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending August 21 totaled 11,930,415, a decrease of 255,757 from the previous week. Labor reported 30,427,090 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs a year ago.