- Prior was 213K (revised to 214K)
- initial jobless claims 213K vs vs 215K est
- 4 week moving average 212K vs 216K last week
- Continuing claims 1.850M vs 1.850M expected
- Prior 1.868M revised to 1.871M
Steady. No Hire. No Fire – at least in this series.
WHAT DO JOBLESS CLAIMS MEASURE?
The US Jobless Claims indicator is a high-frequency economic report that tracks how many people are applying for state unemployment benefits. It is considered one of the most timely gauges of the health of the US labor market because it is released every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET, providing data that is only a few days old. The report, issued by the Department of Labor, is divided into two primary categories:
The number of new (first-time) applications for unemployment insurance filed by individuals who have recently lost their jobs.
This is a leading indicator. It provides the earliest signal of a shifting economy; a steady rise in initial claims often precedes a recession, while a decline suggests the economy is starting to recover.
The number of people who have already filed an initial claim and are still receiving benefits.
This is a lagging or coincident indicator. It measures the “persistence” of unemployment. If continuing claims stay high, it means unemployed workers are having a hard time finding new jobs.
