US initial jobless claims, 1967 to 2026
US initial jobless claims stood at 212,000 in 2026, down 4.7% on the previous period.
The latest reading is 222,500 first-time claims, for June 2026, against 211,600 first-time claims in May 2026. The series is monthly (FRED series ICSA) and runs from January 1967.
How it is measured
The number of people filing a first claim for unemployment insurance each week, counted directly from state program records rather than a survey. Because it is weekly and administrative, it is the fastest labor-market indicator that exists. The data reaches us through FRED, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis's data service, and originates with state unemployment insurance offices via the Department of Labor.
What the curve shows
The window runs from 181,200 (May 1969) to 4,663,250 (April 2020) weekly claims. Layoffs show up here before they show up anywhere else, which is why economists treat a sustained climb in claims as the earliest hard signal that the cycle has turned.
Why watch claims instead of the unemployment rate?
What counts as a claim?
Make this chart yours.
Open it in the editor with the data already loaded. Brand it, animate it, embed it.