The number of Americans who applied last week for unemployment benefits fell slightly and are now closer to pre-Thanksgiving levels. According to the Labor Department, initial jobless claims went down by 2,000 to 326,000 in the week ended Jan. 11.
Furthermore, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3% for the week ending January 4. This was an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the unrevised rate the week before. The 4-week moving average was 2,908,750, up 38,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 2,870,500.
Other findings:
- States reported 1,350,663 people filed Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits claims for the week ending December 28. This was up 63,626 from the week before.
- States with the highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending December 28 included Alaska (6.2), New Jersey (4.0), Connecticut (3.8), and Pennsylvania (3.6).
- The largest decreases in initial claims for the week ending January 4 included Michigan (-17,635), New Jersey (-6,882), Massachusetts (-5,485), Ohio (-5,482), and Iowa (-4,212).