Continuing Jobless Claims Highest Since November 2021

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time declined by 15,000 in the latest week, as 227,000 Initial Jobless Claims were reported. Continuing Claims rose by 28,000, with 1.897 million people still receiving benefits after filing their initial claim.

What’s the bottom line? Initial Jobless Claims declined after the recent spike in filings that were due in part to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. However, Continuing Claims remain elevated, as they have now topped 1.8 million for the last 20 weeks and just hit their highest level since November 2021. Employers have clearly slowed down their pace of hiring and people are collecting benefits for longer periods of time.