Weekly Jobless Claims Log Surprise Drop, Continuing Applications Decrease

12:37 PM EST, 01/15/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US unexpectedly fell, while continuing claims also moved lower, government data showed Thursday.

For the week through Jan. 10, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims dropped by 9,000 to 198,000, the Department of Labor said. The consensus was for the print to increase to 215,000 in a Bloomberg poll. The previous week's reading was revised down by 1,000 to 207,000.

The four-week moving average totaled 205,000, its lowest level since Jan. 20, 2024, the DOL said. The latest tally represented a drop of 6,500 from the prior week's average, which was revised downwards by 250. Unadjusted claims climbed by 31,984 to 330,684 on a weekly basis, according to the data.

"Initial jobless claims are still subject to seasonal volatility, but the surprises have been more to the downside," Oxford Economics Lead Economist Nancy Vanden Houten said in remarks e-mailed to MT Newswires. "Looking through the noise, we see no signs that labor market conditions are worsening."

Seasonally adjusted continuing claims for the week ended Jan. 3 came in at 1.88 million versus Wall Street's views for a nearly 1.9 million reading. Continuing claims dropped by 19,000 from the previous week's level, which was revised down by 11,000. The four-week moving average declined by 250 to 1.89 million from the prior week's downwardly revised average, according to the DOL.

"Continued claims remain at a level consistent with a slow pace of hiring, but are off their recent highs, suggesting that employers aren't pulling back further on hiring," Vanden Houten said. "Also, continued claims continue be consistently revised lower."

Last week, official data showed the US economy added fewer jobs than projected in December, while the unemployment rate moved down.

Markets widely expect the Federal Reserve to hold its benchmark lending rate steady later this month, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Last year, the central bank delivered three back-to-back 25-basis-point interest rate cuts amid concerns about the labor market.

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