from Statista.com
— this post authored by Felix Richter
The number of Americans newly applying for unemployment benefits through state programs dropped to the lowest level in nearly 50 years last week.
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According to the U.S. Department of Labor, so-called initial jobless claims fell to 199,000 in the week ending January 19, a level last seen in November 1969. In total, the number of people collecting unemployment benefits dropped to 1.71 million on a seasonally adjusted basis.
While that certainly is good news underscoring the strength of the U.S. job market, Thursday’s announcement by the Department of Labor also included some bad news: initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed by Federal civilian employees jumped to 24,681 in the week ending January 5, as thousands of furloughed government workers seek temporary relief from not getting paid during the longest shutdown in history. Since federal workers will receive back pay once the shutdown ends, they will eventually have to pay back any benefits they receive though.
For the latest report, with an unexpected jump in jobless claims, see 26 January 2018 Initial Unemployment Claims At Highest Level Since September 2017.
Here is the data as of one week earlier, per earlier discussion above:
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