Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Increase to 218,000

by Calculated Risk on 7/31/2025 08:30:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending July 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 218,000, an increase of 1,000
from the previous week’s unrevised level of 217,000. The 4-week moving average was 221,000, a decrease of 3,500 from
the previous week’s unrevised average of 224,500.
emphasis added

The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims decreased to 221,000.

The previous week was unrevised.

Weekly claims were lower than the consensus forecast.