Initial jobless claims count the number of individuals filing for unemployment insurance benefits for the first time in a given week, compiled and released every Thursday by the US Department of Labor from data reported by state unemployment insurance offices. Because it is one of the timeliest available economic statistics, reflecting labor-market conditions with only about a one-week lag, it is closely watched by economists and financial markets as an early real-time signal of layoffs and labor-market turning points well ahead of the monthly employment report. The US Employment and Training Administration defines an initial claim formally as a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer, requesting a determination of basic eligibility for the Unemployment Insurance program; the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis republishes the seasonally adjusted weekly count as the ICSA series in its FRED database, sourced from the same Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report.
Facts
Classification
Release Frequency Timing Class Geography
Geographic ScopeUnited States (U.S. Department of Labor) 3 In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. FRED: Initial Claims (ICSA) Series (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
Federal Reserve Bank of St. LouisSeries description and notes, FRED ICSA (Initial Claims) page
An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The claim requests a determination of basic eligibility for the Unemployment Insurance program.
Introduction, frequency
Louis republishes the seasonally adjusted weekly count as the ICSA series in its FRED database, sourced from the same Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report.
View the Source 2. US Leading Indicators (The Conference Board)
3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
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