US Weekly Jobless Claims Drop in the Week Ending November 18th

The US Department of Labor reported on Wednesday (11-22-23) that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 209,000 during the week ending Saturday, November 18th. This is a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 233,000 (originally reported as 231,000). The 4-week moving average was 220,000—a decrease of 750 from the previous week’s revised average of 220,750 (originally reported as 220,250).

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment, known as continuing claims, during the week ending November 11th was 1,840,000. This is a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,862,000 (originally reported as 1,865,000). The 4-week moving average was 1,836,750—an increase of 14,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,822,500 (originally reported as 1,823,250) and the highest level since December 18, 2021, when it was 1,838,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending November 11th, unchanged from the previous week’s revised rate of 1.2% (originally reported as 1.3%).