Jobless Claims Dip To 197,000, Year-to-Date Lowest Since 1969

Jobless claims dipped last week to one of the lowest levels in decades, highlighting the historically low level of layoffs that has prevailed this year.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits slipped by 1,000 to 197,000 in the week ended September 19, data from the Labor Department showed Thursday.

Initial claims, which are a proxy for layoffs, have rarely fallen this low or stayed this low for this long. Between 1970 and 2018, there were no weeks with claims this low. In recent years, claims have only fallen this low eight times: twice in April 2019, twice in September 2022, once in January 2024, and three times this year (including the most recent report).

For the four-week average of initial claims, which smooths out the week-to-week volatility, fell to 202,250, the lowest in six weeks.  This average has only been so low 93 times in data going back to 1967, with 83 of those readings occurring in 1967–1969. Between 1970 and the end of 2025, the average was this low just seven times, none of which occurred between 1970 and 2019. This year has added three more, all within recent weeks.

Even less common than the weekly figures is how long the stretch of low claims. Since the start of the year, claims have averaged 209,947. This is the third time the average for the first thirty-eight weeks of the year has fallen this low. The previous two instances were in 1968 and 1969.  The next lowest was 215,553 in 2019. Source: US Labor Department

Continuing claims were little changed at 1.72 million in the week ended September 12, near the lowest level since 2023.