4 week average comes in at 243.50k vs 243.0K
The US initial jobless claims came in at 236K vs 245K estimate. That was slightly below the 238K from the prior week. The 4 -week MA came in at 243.50K. That is up 0.5K from the prior week.
The continuing claims came in at 1918K vs 1980K estimate. The prior week was 1979K. That was revised higher from 1964K. The continuing claims number is the lowest level for insured unemployment since November 5, 1988 when it was 1,898K. The 4-week moving average was 1,965.5K, a decrease of 27.5K from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since February 2, 1974 when it was 1,964.25K. This is another good sign for employment.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending April 22 were in Alaska (3.4), Puerto Rico (2.7), New Jersey (2.5), California (2.3), Connecticut (2.3), Rhode Island (2.3), Massachusetts (2.1), Illinois (2.0), Pennsylvania (2.0), and Montana (1.7).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 29 were in Illinois (+652), Tennessee (+432), Indiana (+350), Iowa (+314), and New Hampshire (+300), while the largest decreases were in New York (-13,953), New Jersey (-4,069), Massachusetts (-3,882), Rhode Island (-1,372), and Arizona (-1,246).
Overall, this report continues to support the strong jobs story in the United States.
