Initial Claims Edge Lower

Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to start the year, the Labor Department reported Thursday, amid a still-tight labor market.

For the week ending January 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims fell to 205,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The four-week moving average fell to 212,500, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate fell to 1.1 percent for the week ending December 31, 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 December 31 fell to 1,634,000, a decrease of 63,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The four-week moving average fell to 1,679,500, a decrease of 8,750 from the previous week’s revised average.

Advance actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 339,286 in the week ending January 7, an increase of 60,799 (21.8 percent) from the previous week. Seasonal factors had expected an increase of 62,505 (22.4 percent) from the previous week. Labor reported 414,810 initial claims in the comparable week in 2022.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate rose to 1.3 percent during the week ending December 31, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,873,668, an increase of 163,055 (9.5 percent) from the preceding week. Seasonal factors had expected an increase of 235,888 (or 13.8 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.5 percent; volume was 2,053,312.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending December 24 rose to 1,734,355, an increase of 132,576 from the previous week. Labor reported 2,093,144 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2021.