Initial unemployment claims (not seasonally adjusted) - United States - Department of Labor - Weekly
This series is part of the dataset: Unemployment claims
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. In the United States, seasonally unadjusted jobless claims were 178,851 on 24 October 2026, versus 173,203 on 17 October 2026. This constitutes an increase of 3.26 percent.
Sample. In this weekly time series, there are a total of 3,121 data points. The span of time covered by the series extends from January 1967 to October 2026.
History. Here’s a quick look at some descriptive statistics calculated on the entire sample: claims had an average value of 358,197; they reached a minimum of 133,000 on 6 September 1969; they peaked at 6,161,268 on 4 April 2020.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Number of persons |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-10 | 191,797 |
| 2026-10-17 | 173,203 |
| 2026-10-24 | 178,851 |
Nugget of wisdom. One of the advantages of our web site is that we provide complete metadata. Find it below to learn more about the attributes of the time series that you use in your research.
Not for investment purposes. Data and analyses disseminated on this web site are not suitable for investment purposes or any other financial decision. Users should seek expert advice and perform their own independent due diligence before making any financial commitments.
Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Initial unemployment claims (jobless claims) |
| Country | United States |
| Economic concept | Flow |
| Data type | Quantity |
| Deflation method | Not applicable |
| Seasonally adjusted | No |
| Rescaling | No |
| Frequency | Weekly |
| Unit | Number of persons |
| Source | U.S. Department of Labor - Employment and Training Administration |
| Source type | Federal Administration |
| Data licence | Unknown |
| Measure type | Level |
Series in the same data set
Discover the other time series included in this data set.
Unemployment claims
| Series Name | Observations | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial unemployment claims (seasonally adjusted) - United States - Department of Labor - Weekly | 3121 | 1967-01-07 | 2026-10-24 |
| Initial unemployment claims (seasonally adjusted; 4-week average) - United States - Department of Labor - Weekly | 3118 | 1967-01-28 | 2026-10-24 |
| Initial unemployment claims (not seasonally adjusted) - United States - Department of Labor - Weekly | 3121 | 1967-01-07 | 2026-10-24 |
| Continued unemployment claims (seasonally adjusted) - United States - Department of Labor - Weekly | 3120 | 1967-01-07 | 2026-10-17 |
| Continued unemployment claims (seasonally adjusted; 4-week average) - United States - Department of Labor - Weekly | 3117 | 1967-01-28 | 2026-10-17 |
| Continued unemployment claims (not seasonally adjusted) - United States - Department of Labor - Weekly | 3120 | 1967-01-07 | 2026-10-17 |
| Persons covered by unemployment insurance - United States - Department of Labor - Weekly | 2910 | 1971-01-02 | 2026-10-03 |