#CPI&JoblessClaimsWatch What Are Jobless Claims?

Jobless claims are a statistic reported weekly by the U.S. Department of Labor that counts people filing to receive unemployment insurance benefits. There are two categories of jobless claims: initial, which comprises people filing for the first time, and continuing, which consists of unemployed people who have already been receiving unemployment benefits. Jobless claims are an important leading indicator of the state of the employment situation and the health of the economy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Jobless claims measure how many people are out of work at a given time.

Initial jobless claims represent new claimants for unemployment benefits.

Continuing jobless claims are people who are continuing to receive benefits.

It is generally a poor sign for the economy when a growing number of people who are willing to work can't find jobs.

Because weekly jobless claims can be very volatile, many economists monitor the moving four-week average.

Understanding Jobless Claims

The nation's jobless claims are an extremely important indicator for macroeconomic analysis. A weekly report produced and published by the Department of Labor (DOL) tracks how many new people filed for unemployment benefits in the previous week. As such, it is a good gauge of the U.S. job market. For instance, when more people file for unemployment benefits, it generally means fewer people have jobs, and vice versa.

Investors can use this report to form an opinion of the country's economic performance. However, it is often very volatile data because it is reported every week. The moving four-week average of jobless claims is often monitored rather than the weekly figure. The report is released Thursday mornings at 8:30 a.m. ET and can be a market-moving event.

There were 219,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ending Feb. 15, 2025, and about 1.87 million continuing claims during the week ending Feb. 8, 2025. The unemployment rate was 4% as of January 2025.