Continuing Unemployment Insurance Claims Drop to Their Lowest Since 1970
Initial unemployment insurance claims decreased by 6.8% for the week ending February 19, 2022, marking the fourth decline in five weeks and signaling a strong recovery trend.
For the week ending February 19, 2022, new unemployment insurance claims in the U.S. fell by 6.8% compared to the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted initial claims totaled 232,000, reflecting a decrease of 17,000 from the prior week's revised figure. This marked the fourth drop in five weeks and was 1.3% below economists' forecasts of 235,000 according to Dow Jones polling.
The four-week moving average of initial claims also declined by 3.0%, settling at 236,250. For context, initial claims had dropped to 188,000 in December 2021.
Key Highlights
- Initial unemployment claims declined 6.8% in the week ending February 19, 2022.
- Claims were 1.3% lower than economists' expectations.
- Continuing claims dropped 7.1%, reaching their lowest point since 1970.
Employment Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
Despite the encouraging decreases in unemployment claims, total employment remains approximately 1.7 million jobs shy of February 2020 pre-pandemic figures. Nevertheless, the unemployment rate has dramatically improved from its peak of 14.7% during the pandemic to around 4% currently.
Additionally, revised data shows the U.S. GDP grew at a 7.0% annualized rate in Q4 2021, up from an earlier estimate of 6.9%, culminating in a 5.7% growth for the full year—the strongest since 1984.
Continuing Claims Reach Historic Lows
Continuing unemployment claims, which lag initial claims by one week, fell to 1,476,000 for the week ending February 12, 2022. This represents a 7.1% decrease (112,000 fewer claims) from the previous week and the lowest insured unemployment level since March 14, 1970.
The four-week moving average for continuing claims also dropped 3.0% to 1,576,000, the lowest since June 30, 1973.
Seasonally Adjusted vs. Unadjusted Figures
The seasonally adjusted initial claims of 232,000 for the week ending February 19 were derived from an unadjusted figure of 214,873, which itself fell by 10.4% from the prior week. Seasonal trends typically predict a 3.3% drop at this time of year.
State-Level Initial Jobless Claims
Most states reported declines in new claims, with Missouri (-6,946), New York (-2,990), Ohio (-2,319), and Tennessee (-2,018) leading reductions. Meanwhile, Michigan (+3,554), Kansas (+629), and Utah (+454) saw increases. These figures include data from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
The Department of Labor notes that the week ending February 19 includes 'advance claims' reported by the paying state, differing from prior weeks' residence-based data, so week-to-week state comparisons may be inconsistent.
For consistent comparisons, data from the week ending February 12 shows Missouri (+7,253), Ohio (+5,392), Kentucky (+4,555), Tennessee (+1,737), and Illinois (+1,488) with the largest increases, while Pennsylvania (-1,688), California (-1,618), Wisconsin (-1,034), New Jersey (-941), and Connecticut (-747) had the largest decreases.
States with Highest Insured Unemployment Rates
For the week ending February 5, 2022, the highest insured unemployment rates were recorded in California (2.7%), Alaska (2.6%), Illinois (2.5%), Minnesota (2.5%), New Jersey (2.5%), Rhode Island (2.4%), the Virgin Islands (2.4%), Massachusetts (2.3%), New York (2.3%), and Montana (2.0%). The national insured unemployment rate remained steady at 1.1% for the week ending February 12.
Extended unemployment benefits were available in New Jersey and New Mexico during the week ending February 5, 2022.
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