New U.S. Department of Labor data show that seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to 219,000 for the week ending March 29, while the number of people receiving unemployment benefits rose to its highest level since late 2021.
The number of seasonally adjusted insured unemployed workers reached 1.9 million for the week ending March 22, an increase of 56,000 from the previous week. That marks the highest level of insured unemployment since November 2021. The insured unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 1.3%.
The four-week moving average for initial claims also declined slightly, down 1,250 to 223,000, while the average for insured unemployment rose to 1,870,500.
Unadjusted data shows modest increase
On an unadjusted basis, initial claims totaled 200,057, a slight increase of 157 from the prior week. This was below the expected seasonal increase of over 5,000 claims. Compared to the same week in 2024, unadjusted initial claims rose by about 2,700.
Unadjusted insured unemployment stood at 2.07 million, essentially flat from the prior week. The unadjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at 1.4%.
Geographic breakdown
Rhode Island reported the highest insured unemployment rate at 2.8%, followed by New Jersey at 2.7% and California and Minnesota at 2.4%. The largest week-over-week increase in initial claims occurred in Kentucky (+915), while Michigan saw the largest drop (–4,040), which state officials attributed to fewer layoffs in management occupations.
Federal and military claims
Claims filed by former federal civilian employees declined by 257 to 564 for the week ending March 22. Initial claims by recently discharged veterans rose slightly to 387. Continued weeks claimed by federal employees and veterans also declined.
