Initial unemployment insurance claims decreased by 13,000 to 228,000 for the week ending May 3, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. The four-week moving average rose slightly to 227,000, up 1,000 from the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate fell to 1.2% for the week ending April 26, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous week. This represents approximately 1,879,000 Americans currently receiving unemployment benefits, a decrease of 29,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
State-by-state variations
The data shows significant regional differences in unemployment claims across the country. New Jersey and Rhode Island reported the highest insured unemployment rates at 2.5% each, followed by California at 2.3% and Washington at 2.1%.
New York experienced the largest increase in initial claims for the week ending April 26, jumping by 15,418. The state reported layoffs primarily in transportation and warehousing, accommodation and food services, public administration, and educational services industries.
Massachusetts (+3,301), Georgia (+1,207), and Puerto Rico (+1,012) also saw notable increases in initial claims.
Meanwhile, Connecticut reported the largest decrease in claims (-2,340), followed by Rhode Island (-1,850), Missouri (-1,696), and Michigan (-1,436). Missouri attributed its decline to fewer layoffs in manufacturing, healthcare and social assistance, and transportation and warehousing sectors.
Unadjusted data shows larger decrease
When looking at non-seasonally adjusted figures, initial claims fell more significantly, dropping by 16,972 (7.6%) to 206,937 for the week ending May 3. The seasonal factors had predicted a much smaller decrease of just 4,584 (2.0%).
The total number of Americans claiming benefits across all unemployment programs increased to 1,927,048 for the week ending April 19, up 17,861 from the previous week. This figure remains higher than the 1,778,469 total claims filed during the comparable week in 2024.
The report noted that no states were triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending April 19, indicating that no states have reached high enough unemployment levels to activate additional weeks of benefits beyond the standard duration.
