Weekly Jobless Claims Fall From 4-Year High

11:04 AM EDT, 09/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Applications for unemployment insurance in the US declined more than expected last week, dropping from a nearly four-year high reached in the week prior, government data showed Thursday.

For the week ended Sept. 13, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims decreased by 33,000 to 231,000, according to the Department of Labor. The consensus was for a 240,000 print in a Bloomberg poll. The previous week's reading, which was the highest since Oct. 23, 2021, was revised up by 1,000 to 264,000.

The four-week moving average for initial claims totaled 240,000, down by 750 from the prior week's average, which was revised upwards by 250. Unadjusted claims fell by 10,384 on a weekly basis to 194,478.

"Sorting through the noise, initial claims are still consistent with a relatively low pace of layoffs," Oxford Economics Lead US Economist Nancy Vanden Houten said in remarks emailed to MT Newswires.

Seasonally adjusted continuing claims came in at 1.92 million for the week ended Sept. 6, below Wall Street's views for a 1.95 million reading. Continuing claims dropped by 7,000 from the previous week's downwardly revised level. The four-week moving average slid by 10,250 to 1.93 million from the prior week's average, which was revised downwards by 3,000, according to the DOL.

Continuing claims have begun to trend lower in recent weeks but remain elevated, consistent with a slow pace of job creation, according to Vanden Houten.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, noting increased downside risks to employment and signaling further policy easing later in 2025. "Job gains have slowed, and the unemployment rate has edged up, but remains low," the Federal Open Market Committee said following its two-day meeting.

Official data released earlier this month showed that US nonfarm payrolls rose by 22,000 in August, well below the 75,000 increase that the Street had expected. The unemployment rate rose to 4.3% from 4.2% in July. For the year through March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised down nonfarm payrolls growth by 911,000.

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