Labor
Weekly Claims — Week of July 11, 2026
Released July 16, 2026 · 8:30 AM ET · Source: U.S. Department of Labor
The read · narrated
The read
The count of people still collecting unemployment — one-point-eight-oh-five million in the week of July fourth, down sixteen thousand — the largest weekly drop since late April. The week before was revised up seven thousand, to one-point-eight-two-one million: the high of the spring climb. June climbed; the first week of July stepped back.
Our last read closed on this: the weekly numbers arrive in pencil; the ink takes a month. Here's the ink. The four-week average of the still-collecting count rose all of June — nearly nine thousand a week at the peak. This week it rose one thousand. The climb, in the honest smoothed read, has just about stopped — back to where it stood in early April.
The other half kept easing too. New filings: two hundred eight thousand — the fewest since early May. And the four-week average fell for a third straight week, faster each time — that's the other question last Thursday's read left open, answered: the average kept easing.
The level check we run every week: new filings, the count still collecting, and the share of covered workers drawing benefits — all three still below the same week last year. That's held through the entire June climb.
This is the labor gauge that updates every week — and this week both halves eased at once: layoffs receding, continued unemployment no longer building. Our payroll read in early July made a case for the Fed to watch, not act — and each weekly claims report since has confirmed that stance.
Next report: Thursday morning. The watch now flips to confirmation — a second week down in the still-collecting count makes this more than pencil; a fourth drop in the filings average makes the easing a trend. The gauges spent June asking whether the labor market was slipping. July, so far, is answering no.
The numbers
| Measure | Latest | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Still collecting (continuing claims) | 1,805,000 · wk of Jul 4 | ▼ −16K, largest weekly drop since late April |
| New filings (initial claims) | 208,000 · wk of Jul 11 | ▼ fewest since early May — 4-week average down a third straight week |
Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims, U.S. Department of Labor, released July 16, 2026 (initial claims for the week ending July 11; continuing/insured unemployment for the week ending July 4 — the series’ one-week publication lag). All figures seasonally adjusted, pulled from FRED (ICSA, IC4WSA, CCSA, CC4WSA, IURSA — FRED is the release’s canonical distribution) and verified line-for-line against the release document, including its revision statements. Revisions this release: initial claims for the week of July 4 were revised up 1,000 to 216,000; continuing claims for the week of June 27 were revised up 7,000, from 1,814,000 to 1,821,000 — making that week the high of the spring climb (the highest since March 21). The 4-week averages’ prior values were revised to 219,000 (initial) and 1,809,750 (continuing). Our July 9 read aired the figures as originally released; this page reflects the current vintage. History framings, computed on the current vintage: the −16,000 weekly decline in continuing claims is the largest since April 25 (−18,000); 208,000 initial claims is the fewest since May 2 (199,000); the continuing-claims 4-week average (1,811,000, +1,250 on the week after rising as much as 8,750 a week through June) exactly equals its April 4 level. The insured unemployment rate (1.2%) is the share of UI-covered workers drawing benefits — covered employment 153,732,307 per the release. Year-ago comparisons are the release’s prior-year column: 221,000 initial / 1,949,000 continuing / 1.3% insured rate. The narration quotes only seasonally adjusted figures; the not-seasonally-adjusted initial count rose the same week (+18,834, the usual July seasonal pattern) and is not comparable week-to-week without adjustment. The Fed’s next decision is July 29. Next report: Thursday, July 23, 8:30 AM ET.