Initial Claims Rise from 4-Month Low

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, but remained near pre-pandemic lows.

For the week ending September 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims rose to 213,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The four-week moving average fell to 216,750, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held at 1.0 percent for the week ending September 10, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending September 10 fell to 1,379,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The four-week moving average fell to 1,404,750, a decrease of 8,250 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 171,562 in the week ending September 17, an increase of 19,385 (12.7 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 15,613 (or 10.3 percent) from the previous week. Labor reported 306,581 initial claims in the comparable week in 2021.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 0.9 percent during the week ending September 10. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,281,137, an increase of 7,977 (0.6 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 28,012 (2.2 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.8 percent; volume was 2,509,945.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending September 3 fell to 1,295,702, a decrease of 96,414 from the previous week. Labor reported 11,250,317 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2021.