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Markets & hours

Jobless claims

Jobless claims count the people who filed a new claim for unemployment insurance benefits in the United States during the previous week. The US Department of Labor publishes them weekly, which makes them one of the most frequent labour market releases. Like other employment data, the release can coincide with higher volatility and wider spreads.

Also called: initial jobless claims, initial claims, unemployment claims, weekly claims

Hypothetical example

Hypothetically, initial claims are 220,000, against a forecast of 205,000 and 215,000 the week before.