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United States Initial Jobless Claims
Last Release
Jul 12, 2025
Actual
221
Units In
Thousand
Previous
228
Frequency
Weekly
Next Release
Jul 24, 2025
Time to Release
5 Days 15 Hours
Highest | Lowest | Average | Date Range | Source |
6,149 Apr 2020 | 162 Nov 1968 | 362.2 Thousand | 1967-2025 | U.S. Department of Labor |
Initial jobless claims have a big impact in financial markets because unlike continued claims data which measures the number of persons claiming unemployment benefits, Initial jobless claims measures new and emerging unemployment.
Latest Updates
Initial jobless claims in the US fell by 7,000 from the previous week to 221,000 in the second period of July, well under market expectations that they would rise by 8,000 to 235,000. It was the lowest number of new claims in one week since April. In the meantime, outstanding claims were broadly unchanged at 1,956,000 on the previous week, below market expectations of 1,970,000 to remain below the 2021 highs touched in June. The results continued to reflect a historically strong labor market, aligned with statements from the Federal Reserve, while consolidating the view that the hiring pace has slowed since the start of the year. Initial claims filed by federal government employees, which have been under scrutiny following recent dismissals by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), jumped by 158 to 596, the highest in seven weeks.
United States Initial Jobless Claims History
Last 12 readings