U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to 406k, New Pandemic Low

In the week ending May 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 406,000, a decrease of 38,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 444,000. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The 4–week moving average was 458,750, a decrease of 46,000 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 504,750. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending May 15, 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 May 15 was 3,642,000, a decrease of 96,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 13,000 from 3,751,000 to 3,738,000. The 4–week moving average was 3,675,000, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 3,250 from 3,681,000 to 3,677,750.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 420,472 in the week ending May 22, a decrease of 34,131 (or –7.5 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 3,932 (or 0.9 percent) from the previous week. There were 1,902,793 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020. In addition, for the week ending May 22, 53 states reported 93,546 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent during the week ending May 15, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 3,521,314, a decrease of 149,996 (or –4.1 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 53,483 (or –1.5 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 13.1 percent and the volume was 19,037,741.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending May 8 was 15,802,126, a decrease of 175,255 from the previous week. There were 31,578,845 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2020.

During the week ending May 8, Extended Benefits were available in the following 14states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas.Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 834 in the week ending May 15, a decrease of 97 from the prior week. There were 606 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 3 from the preceding week.

There were 13,453 continued weeks claimed filed by former Federal civilian employees the week ending May 8, a decrease of 332 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 7,300, a decrease of 21 from the prior week.

During the week ending May 8, 51 states reported 6,515,657 continued weekly claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits and 51 states reported 5,191,642 continued claims for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending May 8 were in Nevada (5.7), Connecticut (4.5),Rhode Island (4.5), Alaska (4.3), Puerto Rico (4.3), California (3.9), New York (3.9), Pennsylvania (3.9), Illinois (3.7), and Vermont (3.6).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 15 were in New Jersey (+4,812), Washington (+3,023), Minnesota (+1,806), West Virginia (+907), and Rhode Island (+792), while the largest decreases were in Georgia(–7,392), Kentucky (–7,123), Texas (–3,881), Michigan (–3,560), and Florida (–2,994).