Jobless Claims Fall to Lowest Level Since December 6, 1969

First-time jobless claims fell 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 207,000, the lowest level since December 6, 1969 when it was 202,000. The 4-week moving average was 220,500, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 223,000 to 223,250.

No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending June 30.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.2% for the week ending July 7. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending July 7 was 1,751,000, an increase of 8,000.

The 4-week moving average was 1,735,750, an increase of 6,250 from the previous week’s revised average. But both measures are at the lowest levels since the 1970s.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending June 30 were in New Jersey (2.2), Connecticut (2.1), Puerto Rico (2.1), the Virgin Islands (2.1), Alaska (2.0), Pennsylvania (2.0), Rhode Island (1.9), California (1.8), Illinois (1.5), and New York (1.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending July 7 were in New York (+15,130), Michigan (+9,274), Ohio (+3,038), Iowa (+2,310), and Pennsylvania (+2,004), while the largest decreases were in California (-5,387), New Jersey (-3,524), Massachusetts (-2,510), Connecticut (-2,011), and Kentucky (-1,598).