Updated: 07-May-26 09:26 ET

Initial Claims for the Week Ended May 02

Updated: 07-May-26 09:26 ET

Highlights

• Initial jobless claims for the week ending May 2 increased by 10,000 to 200,000 (Briefing.com consensus: 205,000).
• Continuing jobless claims for the week ending April 25 decreased by 10,000 to 1.766 million.

Key Factors

• The four-week moving average for initial claims decreased by 4,500 to 203,250.
• The four-week moving average for continuing claims decreased by 5,250 to 1,789,750.
• The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending April 18 was 1,807,617, a decrease of 72,898 from the previous week. Claims filed in the comparable week a year ago totaled 1,926,928.

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from the report is its quiet disposition in the sense that it isn't showing wide swings in either initial claims or continuing claims, which suggests some welcome steadiness in the labor market.

Category	May 2	Apr 25	Apr 18	Apr 11	Apr 4
Initial Claims	200K	190K	215K	208K	218K
4-Wk Moving Avg	203K	208K	211K	210K	209K
Continued Benefits		1766K	1776K	1808K	1809K
4-Wk Moving Avg		1790K	1795K	1809K	1811K