US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Increase in the Week Ending August 17th

On Thursday, the US Department of Labor reported that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 232,000 during the week ending Saturday, August 17th. This is an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 228,000 (originally 227,000). The 4-week moving average was 236,000—a decrease of 750 from the previous week’s revised average of 236,750 (originally 236,500).

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment, known as continuing claims, during the week ending August 10th was 1,863,000. This is an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 1,859,000 (originally 1,864,000). This is the highest level for insured unemployment since November 27th, 2021, when it was 1,878,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,865,500—an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,860,750 (originally 1,862,000) and the highest level since November 27th, 2021, when it was 1,928,000.

The advanced seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending August 10th, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.