ICSA
Initial jobless claims — weekly leading labor indicator
Official name: Initial Claims
Latest value
219000.0000
as of 2026-04-04
All-time percentile
9th
1-year change
-0.5%
Time series
Showing 260 of 260 data points
About this series
Seasonally adjusted Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance. Weekly release (every Thursday) counting new applications for unemployment benefits. One of the fastest-updating labor market indicators.
Why it matters: Unlike monthly payrolls or unemployment, ICSA updates every week — it's the earliest warning of labor market deterioration. Sharp rises in claims have preceded most recessions by several weeks. During normal expansions, claims sit in a range; break-outs above that range are meaningful.
How to read it: Historical expansion range is 200-250k weekly. Below 200k is very tight; above 300k signals weakness; above 400k historically means recession. Look at the 4-week moving average to smooth out week-to-week noise.
Caveats: Can be distorted by weather events, holiday timing, and state-level processing delays. The post-COVID pandemic period had several multi-million-claim prints that are outliers in any historical comparison.