US Weekly Jobless Claims Decline in the Week Ending January 13th

The US Department of Labor reported on Thursday (1-18-24) that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 187,000 during the week ending Saturday, January 13th. This is a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 203,000 (originally reported as 202,000) and the lowest level of initial claims since September 24th, 2022. The 4-week moving average was 203,250—a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 208,000 (originally reported as 207,750).

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment, known as continuing claims, during the week ending January 6th was 1,806,000. This is a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,832,000 (originally reported as 1,834,000). The 4-week moving average was 1,848,000—a decrease of 13,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,861,750 (originally reported as 1,862,250).

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending January 6th, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.