Jobless Claims

US jobless claims refer to the weekly unemployment insurance (UI) claims reported by each state\'s unemployment insurance programme offices to the Federal Department of Labor. These form the basis for the advance initial claims and continued claims reported each week. When an unemployed person ceases working for a company, they file an initial claim to determine their eligibility for the government’s UI programme. As the DoL explains, “the count of US initial claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions”.