Jobless Claims Hit 1.4 Million, Once Again Edging Up from Week Prior

In the week ending July 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 1,434,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 6,000 from 1,416,000 to 1,422,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,368,500, an increase of 6,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 1,750 from 1,360,250 to 1,362,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 11.6 percent for the week ending July 18, an increase of 0.5 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending July 18 was 17,018,000, an increase of 867,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 46,000 from 16,197,000 to 16,151,000. The 4-week moving average was 17,058,250, a decrease of 435,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 11,500 from 17,505,250 to 17,493,750.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 1,205,871 in the week ending July 25, a decrease of 171,054 (or -12.4 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 180,650 (or -13.1 percent) from the previous week. There were 178,897 initial claims in the comparable week in 2019. In addition, for the week ending July 25, 50 states reported 829,697 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 11.6 percent during the week ending July 18, an increase of 0.4 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 16,881,463, an increase of 536,757 (or 3.3 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 323,018 (or -2.0 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.2 percent and the volume was 1,680,029.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending July 11 was 30,202,498, a decrease of 1,601,699 from the previous week. There were 1,722,040 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2019.

During the week ending July 11, Extended Benefits were available in the following 52 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, the Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,393 in the week ending July 18, a decrease of 339 from the prior week. There were 1,130 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 115 from the preceding week.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,393 in the week ending July 18, a decrease of 339 from the prior week. There were 1,130 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 115 from the preceding week.

There were 14,425 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending July 11, a decrease of 673 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 13,707, a decrease of 345 from the prior week.

During the week ending Jul 11, 46 states reported 12,413,322 individuals claiming Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits and 46 states reported 1,055,098 individuals claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 11 were in Puerto Rico (24.6), Nevada (22.0), Hawaii (21.0), Louisiana (16.6), New York (16.3), Georgia (16.0), California (15.5), Connecticut (15.1), Massachusetts (14.5), and the Virgin Islands (14.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending July 18 were in Louisiana (+5,728), Virginia (+5,654), California (+4,680), Tennessee (+3,713), and Alabama (+3,113), while the largest decreases were in Florida (-23,855), Texas (-17,608), Georgia (-16,139), New Jersey (-12,893), and Washington (-12,261).