LABOR • ICSA

Initial Jobless Claims

Seasonally adjusted initial unemployment-insurance claims, reported for weeks ending Saturday. This page displays monthly averages of the weekly observations.

Click the D to destroy this indicator.

CURRENT196750.00claims (monthly average) • October 2026

PRIOR MOVE-3750.00vs prior month

VS YEAR AGO-30000.00change in displayed metric

10-YEAR POSITION1stpercentile rank

Initial Jobless Claims history

claims (monthly average) • normalized monthly

121 plotted periodsLatest: 196750

Inspect chart period

Oct 2026: 196750 claims (monthly average)

Move across or tap the chart, drag the slider, use arrow keys, or step through recorded observations with Previous and Next.

View chart data (121 periods)

WHY IT MATTERS

Initial claims provide a timely view of layoffs and can signal changes in labor-market conditions before monthly employment reports.

The current 5-year z-score is -1.90, with a 10-year displayed-metric range of 196750.00 to 4663250.00.

SOURCE & METHOD

Verified data, calculated server-side.

Source: FRED, series ICSA. Values are displayed in claims (monthly average).

Historical coverage begins January 1967. Daily and weekly observations are averaged within each calendar month for this page chart.

Open source series ↗

Related indicators

Keep following the chain

LaborUnemploymentThe share of the labor force that is unemployed and actively seeking work.LaborPayrollsMonthly change in total U.S. nonfarm payroll employment.LaborJOLTS Job OpeningsSeasonally adjusted total nonfarm job openings on the last business day of each month, measured in thousands.

GO DEEPER

Test the relationship yourself.

Start with Initial Jobless Claims as X and Unemployment as Y, using level values. Change either indicator, transformation, or date range in Research Lab, then run your analysis.

Compare in Research Lab