US Initial Claims Fall To Lowest in 9 Months

Initial jobless claims in the US rose by 22,000 from the previous week to 231,000 on the last week of January, sharply above market expectations of 212,000, to mark the largest magnitude of initial claims in nearly two months. Consistently, continuing claims rose by 25,000 to 1,844,000 in the previous week after having dropped to the lowest level since September 2024 halfway through the month. The rise in claims was attributed to business disruptions following the series of winter storms across multiple parts of the country, prompting households to apply for unemployment benefits, and maintaining the view that the US labor market remains in a low firing and low hiring trend. Initial unemployment claims from federal employees, which have been under scrutiny as markets measure the impact of the US government shutdown, fell by 230 to 568.

Initial jobless claims in the US inched lower by 1,000 to 209,000 from the upwardly revised value in the previous week, ahead of the market consensus of 205,000. In the meantime, continuing claims fell by 38,000 to 1,827,000 on the earlier week, firmly below market expectations of 1,860,000, to reflect the softest level of outstanding unemployment since September of 2024. The result extended the trend of a low-firing and low-hiring labor market, stabilizing since the marked softening on the fourth quarter of 2025 and aligned with the outlook of a lower labor demand and lower labor supply outlined by Fed Chair Powell after the Fed's recent rate hold. In the meantime, initial unemployment claims from federal employees, which have been under scrutiny as markets measure the impact of the US government shutdown, fell by 212 to 798.

Initial jobless claims in the US inched higher by 1,000 from the previous week to 200,000 on the week ending January 17th, holding their recent pullback and firmly below market expectations of a sharp increase to 212,000. In the meantime, continuing claims fell by 26,000 to 1,849,000 in the previous period, remaining under averages from the second half of last year, but remaining above post-pandemic shock levels. The result extended the trend of low-firing and low-hiring labor market, refraining from cooling further since the marked softening on the fourth quarter of 2025. In the meantime, initial unemployment claims from federal employees, which have been under scrutiny as markets measure the impact of the US government shutdown, rose by 364 to 1,010.