US initial unemployment insurance claims declined to 197,000 in the week ending October 3, down from a revised 199,000. The four-week average also fell. Continuing claims increased in their separate reference week, while the insured unemployment rate remained unchanged. The release distinguishes new applications from people continuing to receive benefits, and seasonally adjusted movements from raw weekly totals.
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New claims and their four-week average decline
US initial unemployment insurance claims declined to 197,000 from a revised 199,000 in the latest weekly figures released by the US Department of Labor. The decrease was 2,000. These are new applications for unemployment benefits, reported in the department’s October 8 release.[1], [2]
The advance seasonally adjusted reading covers the week ending October 3. The preceding week’s initial estimate of 197,000 was revised upward in the release. The four-week moving average declined by 2,500 to 198,000, with its previous level revised from 200,000 to 200,500.[1]
Continuing benefits cover an earlier week
Seasonally adjusted insured unemployment was 1,716,000 in the week ending September 26, an increase of 17,000 from the preceding revised level. That earlier figure was reduced from 1,701,000 to 1,699,000. The insured unemployment rate stayed at 1.1 per cent. Its four-week average fell by 12,250 to 1,711,000.[1]
Raw initial applications increase with seasonal patterns
Unadjusted initial claims increased by 11,994 to 170,333 in the week ending October 3, a rise of 7.6 per cent. Seasonal factors had anticipated an increase of 13,725, or 8.7 per cent. The comparable raw total in 2025 was 207,124. Across all benefit programmes, continued weeks claimed totalled 1,520,055 in the week ending September 19; that measure counts weeks of benefits claimed rather than unique individuals.[1]
