US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Increase in the Week Ending May 24

On Thursday, the US Department of Labor reported that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 240,000 during the week ending Saturday, May 24. This is an increase of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 226,000 (originally reported as 227,000). The 4-week moving average was 230,750—a decrease of 250 from the previous week’s revised average of 231,000 (originally 231,500).

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 17 was 1,919,000. This is an increase of 26,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 1,893,000 (originally 1,903,000). This marks the highest level for insured unemployment since November 13, 2021, when it was 1,907,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,890,250—an increase of 2,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 1,887,500. This is the highest level for the average since November 27, 2021, when it was 1,923,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3% for the week ending May 17, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate.