Initial Claims at 2022 High

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose last week to their highest level in 2022, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

For the week ending July 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims rose to 244,000, an increase of 9,000from the previous week’s unrevised level of 235,000. The four-week moving average rose to 235,750, an increase of 3,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 232,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate fell to 0.9 percent for the week ending July 2, 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 July 2 fell to 1,331,000, a decrease of 41,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The four-week moving average rose to 1,339,500, an increase of 5,250 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 241,314 in the week ending July 9, an increase of 21,384 (9.7 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 12,467 (5.7 percent) from the previous week. Labor reported 388,662 initial claims in the comparable week in 2021.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate fell to 0.9 percent during the week ending July 2, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,327,106, a decrease of 47,261 (-3.4 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 6,858 (-0.5 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 2.3 percent; volume was 3,125,391.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending June 25 rose to 1,400,350, an increase of 72,504 from the previous week. Labor reported 13,815,884 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2021.