Jobless Claims Plummet to Lowest Level Since February 1973

Job seekers wait to meet with employers at a career fair in New York City, October 24, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)

The Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell 41,000 to 220,000 for the week ending January 13, 2018. That’s the lowest level for jobless claims since February 24, 1973 when it was 218,000.

The previous week was unrevised at 261,000.

The 4-week moving average was 244,500, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 250,750. Lagging data for continuing claims showed the advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.7% during the week ending January 6, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week.

That number is highly likely to return to its historic low following this report. The strengthening demand for labor also bodes extremely well for the government jobs report due out at the end of the month.

Claims taking procedures continue to be disrupted in the Virgin Islands. The claims taking process in Puerto Rico has still not returned to normal. Extended benefits were available in Alaska and the Virgin Island during the week ending December 30.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending December 30 were in the Virgin Islands (8.1), Alaska (4.0), Puerto Rico (3.5), New Jersey (2.9), Connecticut (2.8), Montana (2.7), Rhode Island (2.6), Massachusetts (2.5), Minnesota (2.5), and Pennsylvania (2.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending January 6 were in New York (+26,891), Georgia (+11,931), California (+11,927), Pennsylvania (+5,409), and Texas (+5,054), while the largest decreases were in New Jersey (-8,221), Massachusetts (-4,189), Michigan (-3,151), Ohio (-2,583), and Iowa (-2,156).