Jobless Claims: September 1969 Lows

Bottom Line: Seasonally adjusted claims hit their lowest level since September of 1969, a remarkable achievement for the labor market given how much larger it is today than it was 50 years ago. While much of the decline was due to seasonals last week, these data are for the survey week for the monthly jobs report and continue to show overall strength. The 4-week average is down to 201k, below the 13-week average that is now 217k. Overall the trend remains towards tighter labor markets. Jobless Claims FELL by 5k during the week ended April 13th, 192k, compared with market expectations for an increase to 205k.The 4-week average FELL by 6.0k to 201k and the 13 week average FELL by 1.9k to 217k. Continuing Claims FELL by 63k during the week ended April 6th to 1,653k, after the prior week was revised slightly lower from 1,736k to 1,716k.The 4-week average FELL by 23k to 1,713k. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, Continuing Claims FELL by 133k to 1,729k during the week ended March 30th. The Insured Jobless Rate STAYED at 1.2% during the week ended April 6th. The insured jobless rate only reflects the number of people collecting regular state unemployment insurance.