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Weekly Jobless Claims

Macro & the Fed

Initial jobless claims count the people filing for unemployment insurance for the first time in a given week in the US.

The Labor Department publishes them every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. New York time, which makes them the most frequently updated labor market indicator. Because the weekly number is noisy around holidays and weather events, the four-week average is often used instead. The same report also shows continuing claims, the number of people still receiving benefits.

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