U.S. Jobless Claims Fall for Third Straight Week

In the week ending February 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 223,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 238,000 to 239,000. The 4-week moving average was 253,250, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 255,000 to 255,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending January 29, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending January 29 was 1,621,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 7,000 from 1,628,000 to 1,621,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,634,500, an increase of 16,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 1,750 from 1,619,750 to 1,618,000.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 228,909 in the week ending February 5, a decrease of 28,674 (or -11.1 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 13,497 (or -5.2 percent) from the previous week. There were 868,053 initial claims in the comparable week in 2021.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.4 percent during the week ending January 29, a decrease of percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 2,000,770, a decrease of 33,761 (or -1.7 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 32,877 (or -1.6 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 3.5 percent and the volume was 5,038,66

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending January 22 was 2,099,857, an increase of 32,069 from the previous week. There were 20,242,844 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2021.

During the week ending January 22, Extended Benefits were available in the following 2 states: New Jersey, and New Mexico.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 651 in the week ending January 29, a decrease of 33 from the prior week. There were 405 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 43 from the preceding week.

There were 10,528 continued weeks claimed filed by former Federal civilian employees the week ending January 22, a decrease of 383 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 5,088, an increase of 374 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending January 22 were in Alaska (2.9), California (2.7), Illinois (2.5), Minnesota (2.5), New Jersey (2.5), Rhode Island (2.5), Virgin Islands (2.5), New York (2.4), Massachusetts (2.3), and Puerto Rico (2.1).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending January 29 were in Pennsylvania (+2,735), Georgia (+1,551), Michigan (+1,238), Indiana (+939), and Texas (+785), while the largest decreases were in Ohio (-4,847), California (-2,595), Kentucky (-2,318), Utah (-1,870), and Alabama (-1,343).