Initial Claims Down Another 5,000

MBA NewsLink Staff

Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell again last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, remaining at historically low levels.

For the week ending April 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims fell to 180,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week, which revised up by 1,000 from 184,000 to 185,000. The four-week moving average rose to 179,750, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.0 percent for the week ending April 16. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 16 fell to 1,408,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week to lowest level since February 7, 1970, when it was 1,397,000. The previous week’s level revised down by 8,000 from 1,417,000 to 1,409,000. The four-week moving average fell to 1,455,000, a decrease of 24,500 from the previous week to its lowest level since March 14, 1970, when it was 1,435,250.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 202,983 in the week ending April 23, an increase of 5,005 (2.5 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 10,371 (5.2 percent) from the previous week. Labor reported 611,236 initial claims in the comparable week in 2021.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.0 percent during the week ending April 16. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,447,505, a decrease of 19,779 (1.3 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 18,323 (1.2 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 2.7 percent and volume was 3,776,395.

Continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending April 9 fell to 1,515,902, a decrease of 105,322 from the previous week. Labor reported 16,549,588 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2021.