Initial Claims Up 1st Time in 6 Weeks

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose for the first time since late December, the Labor Department said Thursday, although the labor market remains tight and robust.

For the week ending February 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims rose to 196,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 183,000. The 4-week moving average fell to 189,250, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 191,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate rose to 1.2 percent for the week ending January 28, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending January 28 rose to 1,688,000, an increase of 38,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The four-week moving average rose to 1,664,750, an increase of 14,500 from the previous week’s revised average.

Courtesy U.S. Department of Labor.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 234,654 in the week ending February 4, an increase of 9,628 (4.3 percent) from the previous week. Labor reported 230,740 initial claims in the comparable week in 2022.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.3 percent during the week ending January 28. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,934,854, an increase of 23,663 (1.2 percent) from the preceding week. A year earlier the rate was 1.4 percent; volume was 1,999,446.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending January 21 rose to 1,942,676, an increase of 52,388 from the previous week. Labor reported 2,238,754 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2022.

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported employers added 517,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.4 percent, the lowest rate since 1969