U.S. jobless claims rise to 200,000 as insured unemployment rate holds at 1.2%

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U.S. jobless claims rise

Highlights

Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims rise to 200,000 for the week ending May 2, up from a revised 190,000 the previous week.
The four-week moving average for initial claims decreases to 203,250, while insured unemployment holds at 1.2% with 1,766,000 claims.
Unadjusted insured unemployment falls to 1,735,798 with a rate of 1.1%, and the total continued weeks claimed in all programs drops by 72,898 to 1,807,617.

Latest weekly claims data

As reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims reaches 200,000 in the week ending May 2, up from a revised 190,000 a week earlier. The previous week's level is revised up by 1,000 from 189,000 to 190,000.

The four-week moving average stands at 203,250, down 4,500 from the previous week's revised average of 207,750. That earlier average is revised up by 250 from 207,500.

For the week ending April 25, the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remains unchanged at 1.2%. Seasonally adjusted insured unemployment totals 1,766,000, down 10,000 from the prior week's revised level of 1,776,000.

The four-week moving average for insured unemployment comes in at 1,789,750, a decline of 5,250 from the previous week's revised average. The prior week's average is revised down by 2,250 to 1,795,000.

Labor market and regional impact

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totals 180,968 in the week ending May 2, an increase of 299 from the previous week. Seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 8,748, and the comparable week in 2025 recorded 206,710 initial claims.

The unadjusted insured unemployment rate is 1.1% in the week ending April 25, down 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. Unadjusted insured unemployment in state programs totals 1,735,798, a decrease of 40,153, while a year earlier the rate is 1.2% and the volume is 1,838,279.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs falls to 1,807,617 in the week ending April 18, down 72,898 from the previous week. Initial claims filed by former federal civilian employees total 438 in the week ending April 25, while newly discharged veterans file 371 initial claims.

Among states and territories, the highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending April 18 are in New Jersey at 2.3, Washington at 2.2, and Massachusetts at 2.1. California and Rhode Island each post 2.0, followed by Oregon at 1.8, Minnesota and New York at 1.7, and Illinois, Nevada, and Puerto Rico at 1.6.

Our earlier coverage of March state labor market data noted that unemployment was largely stable across the country, holding steady in 27 states while declining in 14 and rising in 10, as the national jobless rate edged down to 4.3%. We also highlighted wide regional differences, from the District of Columbia’s highest unemployment rate to South Dakota’s lowest, alongside uneven payroll job gains across states.

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