Weekly Jobless Claims Fall, Continuing Applications Hit Lowest Since September 2024

12:43 PM EST, 01/29/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US dropped, while continuing claims reached the lowest level since September 2024, government data showed Thursday.

For the week through Jan. 24, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims decreased by 1,000 to 209,000 from the previous week's average that was revised upwards by 10,000, the Department of Labor said. The consensus was for a 205,000 print in a Bloomberg poll.

The four-week moving average totaled 206,250, rising by 2,250 from the prior week's average that was revised up by 2,500. Unadjusted claims dropped by 41,255 to 231,181 on a weekly basis, according to the data.

Seasonally adjusted continuing claims for the week ended Jan. 17 amounted to 1.83 million, the lowest since Sept. 21, 2024, and below Wall Street's views for a reading of 1.85 million. Continuing claims fell by 38,000 from the previous week's level, which was revised up by 16,000. The four-week moving average declined by 7,250 to 1.87 million from the prior week's upwardly revised average, according to the DOL.

"Claims continue to show limited layoff activity, and the steady decline in continuing claims shows that workers who are let go from their jobs are having an incrementally easier time finding a new one," Jefferies Chief US Economist Thomas Simons said in a note e-mailed to MT Newswires.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release official jobs data for this month Feb. 6.

"If the claims data is to be read at a surface level and layoff activity was much lighter than usual in January 2026, we could see a very strong jobs number next Friday," Simons said.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve left its benchmark lending rate unchanged, saying there have been "some signs of stabilization" in the unemployment rate. In December, the central bank said downside risks to employment had risen in recent months, but it dropped that reference from the Wednesday statement.

"We are maintaining our base case call for a (25-basis-point) rate cut in March," Simons said Thursday. "However, if the claims data continues to show the same resilience in February and March as it has in January, we will have to push back that call."

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