U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to 213,000; Insured Unemployment Hits Two-Year High (11.22.2024)

For the week ending November 16, initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits, seasonally adjusted, dropped to 213,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 219,000. The prior week's claims were revised upward by 2,000, from 217,000 to 219,000.

For the week ending November 16, initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits, seasonally adjusted, dropped to 213,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 219,000. The prior week's claims were revised upward by 2,000, from 217,000 to 219,000. The 4-week moving average of initial claims fell to 217,750, a decrease of 3,750 from the revised average of 221,500 from the previous week, which had been adjusted upward by 500.

As of the week ending November 9, the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate rose to 1.3%, up by 0.1 percentage points from the prior week. The total number of people receiving unemployment benefits increased by 36,000, reaching 1,908,000—the highest level since November 2021, when it stood at 1,974,000. The previous week’s insured unemployment figure was revised down slightly by 1,000, from 1,873,000 to 1,872,000.

The 4-week moving average for insured unemployment claims rose to 1,879,250, an increase of 5,000 from the revised average of 1,874,250. This marks the highest 4-week moving average since November 2021, when it reached 1,928,000. The previous week’s moving average was revised down by 250, from 1,874,500 to 1,874,250.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor