The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased to 885 thousand in the week ended December 12th, from the previous week's revised level of 862 thousand and well above market expectations of 800 thousand. It was the highest number since early September, amid record increases in COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations and new lockdowns across the country. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the number of claims was down to 935 thousand, compared with 956 thousand in the previous week. Also, about 455 thousand people applied for help from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance scheme, which covers workers that do not qualify for initial claims, compared with 415 thousand in the previous period. source: U.S. Department of Labor

Initial Jobless Claims in the United States averaged 370.85 Thousand from 1967 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 6867 Thousand in March of 2020 and a record low of 162 Thousand in November of 1968. This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Initial Jobless Claims - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. United States Initial Jobless Claims - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on December of 2020.

Initial Jobless Claims in the United States is expected to be 900.00 Thousand by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Initial Jobless Claims in the United States to stand at 350.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the United States Initial Jobless Claims is projected to trend around 300.00 Thousand in 2021 and 270.00 Thousand in 2022, according to our econometric models.

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United States Initial Jobless Claims

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
885.00 862.00 6867.00 162.00 1967 - 2020 Thousand Weekly
Volume, SA


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2020-11-25 01:30 PM 21/Nov 778K 748K 730K 730K
2020-12-03 01:30 PM 28/Nov 712K 787K 775K 774K
2020-12-10 01:30 PM 05/Dec 853K 716K 725K 710K
2020-12-17 01:30 PM 12/Dec 885K 862K 800K 815K
2020-12-24 01:30 PM 19/Dec 885K 900K 825K
2020-12-31 01:30 PM 26/Dec 715K
2021-01-07 01:30 PM 02/Jan 685K
2021-01-14 01:30 PM 09/Jan 640K
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
US Weekly Jobless Claims Jump to 3-Month High
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased to 885 thousand in the week ended December 12th, from the previous week's revised level of 862 thousand and well above market expectations of 800 thousand. It was the highest number since early September, amid record increases in COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations and new lockdowns across the country. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the number of claims was down to 935 thousand, compared with 956 thousand in the previous week. Also, about 455 thousand people applied for help from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance scheme, which covers workers that do not qualify for initial claims, compared with 415 thousand in the previous period.
2020-12-17
Initial Claims Seen Falling to 800K
Initial jobless claims are seen falling to 800 thousand in the week ended December 12th, compared to 853 thousand reported in the previous week which was the highest number since mid-September amid rising COVID-19 cases and new lockdowns across the country. Claims are far from 200 thousand level reported back in February and will likely remain elevated for some time as the pandemic is far from controlled, and cases and hospitalizations continue to rise. Meanwhile, continuing claims are forecast to fall to 5.598 million in the December 5th week, after rising for the first time in eleven weeks.
2020-12-17
US Weekly Jobless Claims Jump to 2-1/2-Month High
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased to 853 thousand in the week ended December 5th, from the previous week's revised level of 716 thousand and well above market expectations of 725 thousand. It was the highest number since mid-September amid rising COVID-19 cases and new lockdowns across the country. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the number of claims was up to 948 thousand, compared with 719 thousand in the previous week. Also, about 428 thousand people applied for help from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance scheme, which covers workers that do not qualify for initial claims, compared with 288 thousand in the previous period.
2020-12-10
Initial Jobless Claims Seen Rising to 725K
Initial jobless claims are seen rising to 725 thousand in the week ended December 5th, compared to 712 thousand reported in the previous week amid mounting COVID-19 cases and new lockdowns across the country. Claims remain elevated and far from 200 thousand level reported back in February before the coronavirus related lockdowns. Meanwhile, continuing claims are forecast to fall to 5.335 million in the November 28th week, which would mark the 11th straight week of declines and the lowest level since March.
2020-12-10

United States Initial Jobless Claims
Initial jobless claims have a big impact in financial markets because unlike continued claims data which measures the number of persons claiming unemployment benefits, Initial jobless claims measures new and emerging unemployment.