Unemployment Insurance Claims Decrease by 16k to 230k in Week Ending April 22

Weekly Initial Claims Report Highlights

• Unemployment Claims Decrease by 16,000 to 230,000
• Insured unemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.3 percent
• Continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs decreased by 6,419

Weekly Initial Claims Report Overview

In the week ending April 22, the seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased by 16,000 to 230,000, while the 4-week moving average decreased by 4,000 to 236,000.

Unemployment Rate Steady at 1.3%

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.3 percent for the week ending April 15, with 1,858,000 seasonally adjusted insured unemployment claims, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

Actual Unemployment Claims Decrease

The unadjusted data showed 225,841 actual initial claims under state programs, a decrease of 3,478 (or -1.5 percent) from the previous week, with an unadjusted insured unemployment rate of 1.2 percent during the week ending April 15.

Fewer Weeks Claimed for Benefits

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending April 8 was 1,815,491, a decrease of 6,419 from the previous week.

No States on Extended Benefits

No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending April 8. Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 379, a decrease of 8 from the prior week, while there were 334 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 14 from the preceding week.

States with Highest Unemployment Rates

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending April 8 were in California (2.4), New Jersey (2.4), Massachusetts (2.1), Minnesota (2.0), Rhode Island (1.9), Illinois (1.8), New York (1.8), Alaska (1.7), Oregon (1.7), Puerto Rico (1.6), and Washington (1.6).

Jobless Claims Rise in Some States

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 15 were in New York (+6,600), Georgia (+3,245), Connecticut (+1,223), Rhode Island (+1,058), and South Carolina (+688), while the largest decreases were in California (-4,456), Texas (-2,801), Pennsylvania (-1,789), Indiana (-1,516), and Oregon (-1,202).

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.