The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased to 965 thousand in the week ended January 9th, from the previous week's revised level of 784 thousand and well above market expectations of 795 thousand. It was the highest number since mid August, amid record increases in COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations and new restrictive measures across the country. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the number of claims climbed to 1.15 million, compared with 920 thousand in the previous week. Also, about 284 thousand people applied for help from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance scheme, which covers workers that do not qualify for initial claims, compared with 161 thousand in the previous period. source: U.S. Department of Labor

Initial Jobless Claims in the United States averaged 371.51 Thousand from 1967 until 2021, reaching an all time high of 6867 Thousand in March of 2020 and a record low of 162 Thousand in November of 1968. This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Initial Jobless Claims - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. United States Initial Jobless Claims - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on January of 2021.

Initial Jobless Claims in the United States is expected to be 600.00 Thousand by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Initial Jobless Claims in the United States to stand at 300.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the United States Initial Jobless Claims is projected to trend around 270.00 Thousand in 2022, according to our econometric models.

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United States Initial Jobless Claims

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
965.00 784.00 6867.00 162.00 1967 - 2021 Thousand Weekly
Volume, SA


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2020-12-23 01:30 PM 19/Dec 803K 892K 885K 905K
2020-12-31 01:30 PM 26/Dec 787K 806K 833K 815K
2021-01-07 01:30 PM 02/Jan 787K 790K 800K 755K
2021-01-14 01:30 PM 09/Jan 965K 784K 795K 790K
2021-01-21 01:30 PM 16/Jan 965K 915K
2021-01-28 01:30 PM 23/Jan 875K
2021-02-04 01:30 PM 30/Jan
2021-02-11 01:30 PM 06/Feb
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
US Weekly Jobless Claims Jump to 5-Month High
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased to 965 thousand in the week ended January 9th, from the previous week's revised level of 784 thousand and well above market expectations of 795 thousand. It was the highest number since mid-August, amid a record jump in COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations and new restrictive measures across the country. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the number of claims climbed to 1.15 million, compared with 920 thousand in the previous week. Also, about 284 thousand people applied for help from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance scheme, which covers workers that do not qualify for initial claims, compared with 161 thousand in the previous period.
2021-01-14
US Weekly Jobless Claims Remain Elevated
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits decreased to 787 thousand in the week ended January 2nd, from an upwardly revised 790 thousand in the previous week and compared with market expectations of 800 thousand. Still, claims remained well above pre-pandemic levels and will likely remain elevated for some time as the number of COVID-19 infections continue to rise at record pace, prompting many US states to impose restrictive measures to respond to the outbreak. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the number of claims rose to 922 thousand, compared with 845 thousand in the previous week. Also, about 161 thousand people applied for help from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance scheme, which covers workers that do not qualify for initial claims, compared with 310 thousand in the previous period.
2021-01-07
US Weekly Jobless Claims Fall More Than Forecast
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits decreased to 787 thousand in the week ended December 26th, moving further away from a three-month high of 892 thousand hit in the week ended December 12th and compared with market expectations of 833 thousand. Still, claims remained well above the 200 thousand level reported back in February and will likely remain elevated for some time as the pandemic is far from controlled although vaccination has already started. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the number of claims was down to 841 thousand, compared with 873 thousand in the previous week. Also, about 308 thousand people applied for help from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance scheme, which covers workers that do not qualify for initial claims, compared with 397 thousand in the previous period.
2020-12-31
US Weekly Jobless Claims Fall More Than Forecast
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits decreased to 803 thousand in the week ended December 19th, from the previous week's three-month high of 892 thousand and compared with market expectations of 885 thousand. Still, claims remained well above the 200 thousand level reported back in February and will likely remain elevated for some time as the pandemic is far from controlled although vaccination has already started. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the number of claims was down to 869 thousand, compared with 942 thousand in the previous week. Also, about 398 thousand people applied for help from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance scheme, which covers workers that do not qualify for initial claims, compared with 454 thousand in the previous period.
2020-12-23

United States Initial Jobless Claims
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.