Updated: 25-Apr-24 09:28 ET

Initial Claims for the Week Ended Apr 20

Updated: 25-Apr-24 09:28 ET

Highlights

• Initial jobless claims for the week ending April 20 decreased by 5,000 to 207,000 (Briefing.com consensus 215,000).
• Continuing jobless claims for the week ending April 13 decreased by 15,000 to 1.781 million.

Key Factors

• The four-week moving average for initial claims decreased by 1,250 to 213,250.
• The four-week moving average for continuing claims decreased by 7,250 to 1,794,000.
• The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending April 6 was 1,873,546, a decrease of 79,491 from the previous week. In the same week a year ago, there were 1,815,498 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs.

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from this report is that it continues to reflect a labor market where employers, in general, are reluctant to cut jobs, which will be interpreted to mean that they remain generally optimistic about demand. That's not a bad thing, unless one is hoping for a rate cut soon.

Category	Apr 20	Apr 13	Apr 6	Mar 30	Mar 23
Initial Claims	207K	212K	212K	222K	212K
4-Wk Moving Avg	213K	215K	215K	215K	212K
Continued Benefits		1781K	1796K	1810K	1789K
4-Wk Moving Avg		1794K	1801K	1801K	1799K