Updated: 09-Jul-26 09:13 ET

Initial Claims for the Week Ended Jul 04

Updated: 09-Jul-26 09:13 ET

Highlights

• For the week ending July 4, initial jobless claims decreased by 2,000 to 215,000 (Briefing.com consensus: 220,000), which is the same level they were at in December 2025.
• For the week ending June 27, continuing jobless claims increased by 8,000 to 1.814 million, which is roughly where they stood in March.

Key Factors

• The four-week moving average for initial claims decreased by 3,750 to 218,750.
• The four-week moving average for continuing claims increased by 7,000 to 1,808,000.
• The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending June 20 was 1,773,725, an increase of 26,074 from the previous week. Claims filed in the comparable week a year ago totaled 1,929,561.

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from the report is the same key takeaway as other recent reports: the low level of initial jobless claims continues to reinforce the understanding that layoff activity remains quite low overall.

Category	Jul 4	Jun 27	Jun 20	Jun 13	Jun 6
Initial Claims	215K	217K	216K	227K	230K
4-Wk Moving Avg	219K	223K	225K	224K	219K
Continued Benefits		1814K	1806K	1812K	1800K
4-Wk Moving Avg		1808K	1801K	1792K	1786K