Initial Unemployment Claims Drop to the Lowest Number Since September 1969

Initial Unemployment Claims Notes 

• Initial claims for the week ending December 4, 2021, were 184,000. That's the lowest level since 182,000 for the week ending September 6, 1969, at 182,000.
• The record low is November 30, 1968, at 162,000. 
• These numbers are not population adjusted making the current low all the more remarkable. 

Unfortunately, Covid-19 spike in 2020 makes the scale on the chart hard to read. We can remedy that by excluding data starting February 2020.

Initial Claims Jan 1967 Through Jan 2020

Pandemic Exclusion Notes

• Excluding the pandemic years, the lowest monthly average was 181,200 in May of 1969.
• A spike in claims tends to precede recessions but delays are often lengthy.

Continued Claims 

4-Week Moving Average of Continued Claims

Continued Claims Notes

• Continued Claims at 1,954,000 are above the pre-pandemic level of 1,708,000
• Continued Claims 4-week moving average of at 2,081,750 is above the pre-pandemic level of 1,719,250.

Continued claims are the official counts of people receiving unemployment benefits.