in the week ending June 11

• Initial claims for unemployment insurance edged down 3,000 to 229,000 in the week ending June 11, but the 4-week moving average rose to 219,000.
• Continuing claims edged up 3,000 to 1.312 million in the week ending June 4.    
• The insured unemployment rate held steady at a very low 0.9 percent in the week ending June 4.
• The labor market remains strong in the spring quarter but the rise in initial claims since early April is a cool breezing blowing at the hot labor market.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 3,000 to 229,000 in the week ending June 11 from an upward revised 232,000 in the week ending June 4. The four-week moving average of initial claims, which smooths out some of the volatility, moved up 3,000 to 219,000 in the week ending June 11. It hit a low of 172K in the early April.  The insured unemployment rate held steady at a very low 0.9 percent in the week ending June 4.                                                                          

The total number of people receiving benefits under regular state unemployment insurance programs (continuing claims) edged up by 3,000 to 1.312 million in the week ending June 4.  The four-week moving average of continuing claims was unchanged at 1.318 million. Continuing claims are at decades-long lows as unemployed workers leave the program’s rolls, either because their benefits have expired or because they have quickly found a new job. After peaking at more than 23 million in May 2020, state continuing claims have now moved to their lowest levels since the beginning of 1970.

The labor market remains in solid shape in the spring quarter but the rise in initial claims since early April is a cool breeze blowing at the hot labor market. If the recent uptick in the 4-week moving average of initial claims to 219K moves up to over 250K, that would be a clear sign that layoffs are happening at a growing number of companies and the unemployment rate is close to a low at 3.6 percent. 

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