Jobless Claims Average Falls to Lowest Level Since March 1973

U.S. jobless claims graph on a tablet screen.

The 4-week moving average for jobless claims came in at 221,500, a decline of 7,750 to the lowest level since March 3, 1973. when it was 221,250. First-time applications for state unemployment benefits rose to a still very low seasonally adjusted 211,000 for the week ending April 28.

The previous week was unrevised at 209,000, the lowest level since December 6, 1969.

In lagging data, the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending April 21, a decrease of 0.1% from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment was 1,756,000, a decrease of 77,000.

This is the lowest level for insured unemployment since December 8, 1973 when it was 1,717,000.

The 4-week moving average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment was 1,833,250, a decline of 15,500 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since December 29, 1973 when it was 1,784,250.

The previous week’s average was revised down by 1,000 from 1,849,750 to 1,848,750.

Extended benefits were payable in the Virgin Islands during the week ending April 14 and claims taking procedures in Puerto Rico and in the Virgin Islands have still not returned to normal (hurricane devastation).

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending April 14 were in the Virgin Islands (4.5), Alaska (3.2), Connecticut (2.5), New Jersey (2.4), California (2.3), Puerto Rico (2.3), Pennsylvania (2.1), Illinois (1.9), Montana (1.9), Minnesota (1.8), and Rhode Island (1.8).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 21 were in Massachusetts (+4,228), Rhode Island (+1,697), Pennsylvania (+347), Vermont (+327), and Nevada (+156), while the largest decreases were in New York (- 18,469), California (-4,353), New Jersey (-1,786), Kentucky (-1,251), and Wisconsin (-967).