Connect with DOL at News Release https://blog.dol.gov TRANSMISSION OF MATERIALS IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL 8:30 A.M. (Eastern) Thursday, April 16, 2026 UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending April 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 207,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 from 219,000 to 218,000. The 4-week moving average was 209,750, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 250 from 209,500 to 209,250. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending April 4, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 4 was 1,818,000, an increase of 31,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 7,000 from 1,794,000 to 1,787,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,813,250, a decrease of 8,250 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since June 1, 2024 when it was 1,806,000. The previous week's average was revised down by 1,750 from 1,823,250 to 1,821,500. 1 UNADJUSTED DATA The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 213,873 in the week ending April 11, an increase of 12,116 (or 6.0 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 23,749 (or 11.8 percent) from the previous week. There were 220,962 initial claims in the comparable week in 2025. The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent during the week ending April 4, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,892,872, a decrease of 28,654 (or -1.5 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 60,774 (or -3.2 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.3 percent and the volume was 1,943,418. The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending March 28 was 1,954,291, a decrease of 86,605 from the previous week. There were 2,015,031 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2025. No state was triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program during the week ending March 28. Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 512 in the week ending April 4, a decrease of 68 from the prior week. There were 436 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 41 from the preceding week. There were 10,311 continued weeks claimed filed by former Federal civilian employees the week ending March 28, a decrease of 778 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 4,392, a decrease of 303 from the prior week. 2 The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 28 were in Massachusetts (2.5), New Jersey (2.5), Rhode Island (2.5), Washington (2.3), Minnesota (2.2), California (2.1), Oregon (2.1), Illinois (1.9), New York (1.9), Michigan (1.8), Connecticut (1.7), and Nevada (1.7). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 4 were in New Jersey (+5,603), Pennsylvania (+2,513), Oregon (+2,182), California (+2,130), and Illinois (+1,652), while the largest decreases were in New York (-1,592), Texas (-1,299), Tennessee (-838), Hawaii (-422), and Louisiana (-315). 3 UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS WEEK ENDING April 11 April 4 Change March 28 Prior Year1 Initial Claims (SA) 207,000 218,000 -11,000 203,000 217,000 Initial Claims (NSA) 213,873 201,757 +12,116 186,258 220,962 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 209,750 209,250 +500 208,000 221,000 WEEK ENDING April 4 March 28 Change March 21 Prior Year1 Insured Unemployment (SA) 1,818,000 1,787,000 +31,000 1,832,000 1,876,000 Insured Unemployment (NSA) 1,892,872 1,921,526 -28,654 2,006,576 1,943,418 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 1,813,250 1,821,500 -8,250 1,836,500 1,867,250 Insured Unemployment Rate (SA)2 1.2% 1.2% 0.0 1.2% 1.2% Insured Unemployment Rate (NSA)2 1.2% 1.3% -0.1 1.3% 1.3% INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED) WEEK ENDING April 4 March 28 Change Prior Year1 Federal Employees (UCFE) 512 580 -68 542 Newly Discharged Veterans (UCX) 436 395 +41 440 CONTINUED WEEKS CLAIMED FILED FOR UI BENEFITS IN ALL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED) WEEK ENDING March 28 March 21 Change Prior Year1 Regular State 1,914,931 1,999,712 -84,781 1,979,894 Federal Employees 10,311 11,089 -778 7,192 Newly Discharged Veterans 4,392 4,695 -303 4,444 Extended Benefits3 23 31 -8 72 State Additional Benefits4 3,495 3,679 -184 3,059 STC / Workshare 5 21,139 21,690 -551 20,370 TOTAL 1,954,291 2,040,896 -86,605 2,015,031 FOOTNOTES SA - Seasonally Adjusted Data, NSA - Not Seasonally Adjusted Data Continued weeks claimed represent all weeks of benefits claimed during the week being reported, and do not represent weeks claimed by unique individuals. 1. Prior year is comparable to most recent data. 2. Most recent week used covered employment of 153,547,535 as denominator. 3. Information on the EB program can be found here: EB Program information 4. Some states maintain additional benefit programs for those claimants who exhaust regular benefits, and when applicable, extended benefits. Information on states that participate, and the extent of benefits paid, can be found starting on page 4-5 of this link: Extensions and Special Programs PDF 5. Information on STC/Worksharing can be found starting on page 4-11 of the following link: Extensions and Special Programs PDF 4 Advance State Claims - Not Seasonally Adjusted Initial Claims Filed During Week Ended April 11 Insured Unemployment For Week Ended April 4 STATE Advance Prior Wk Change Advance Prior Wk Change Alabama 1,720 1,675 45 6,905 7,440 -535 Alaska 571 453 118 4,375 4,707 -332 Arizona 3,622 2,967 655 16,733 17,834 -1,101 Arkansas 1,363 1,267 96 4,139 5,165 -1,026 California 41,436 40,140 1,296 365,874 369,606 -3,732 Colorado 3,769 3,468 301 32,992 32,574 418 Connecticut 4,196 2,415 1,781 26,377 29,292 -2,915 Delaware 732 255 477 5,626 5,734 -108 District of Columbia 666 607 59 8,164 7,235 929 Florida 6,146 5,584 562 25,579 30,039 -4,460 Georgia 4,628 3,540 1,088 24,671 24,256 415 Hawaii 1,100 1,126 -26 6,083 5,882 201 Idaho 777 716 61 6,102 7,032 -930 Illinois 7,642 9,758 -2,116 109,842 112,161 -2,319 Indiana 3,646 2,727 919 21,110 20,972 138 Iowa 1,349 1,372 -23 9,788 12,510 -2,722 Kansas 1,931 1,029 902 7,476 7,117 359 Kentucky 1,694 1,726 -32 14,951 11,418 3,533 Louisiana 1,388 910 478 4,761 5,966 -1,205 Maine 610 592 18 8,792 8,936 -144 Maryland 2,052 3,322 -1,270 24,549 24,104 445 Massachusetts 4,343 4,544 -201 84,552 89,786 -5,234 Michigan 4,440 4,891 -451 70,790 76,233 -5,443 Minnesota 4,046 3,729 317 63,349 62,528 821 Mississippi 985 920 65 5,359 5,589 -230 Missouri 2,487 2,649 -162 15,823 17,405 -1,582 Montana 548 568 -20 7,898 7,948 -50 Nebraska 714 583 131 5,650 6,151 -501 Nevada 2,692 2,773 -81 26,229 25,401 828 New Hampshire 373 504 -131 3,592 4,457 -865 New Jersey 12,669 13,645 -976 107,068 105,202 1,866 New Mexico 803 873 -70 10,685 10,225 460 New York 21,630 13,343 8,287 187,869 184,522 3,347 North Carolina 3,135 2,977 158 18,064 19,068 -1,004 North Dakota 313 201 112 5,037 5,048 -11 Ohio 4,814 5,378 -564 50,474 52,468 -1,994 Oklahoma 1,207 1,564 -357 9,461 10,438 -977 Oregon 4,862 8,097 -3,235 39,216 41,042 -1,826 Pennsylvania 10,839 10,954 -115 90,545 92,746 -2,201 Puerto Rico 1,217 702 515 14,572 14,583 -11 Rhode Island 687 553 134 11,369 12,168 -799 South Carolina 2,676 1,977 699 13,728 13,859 -131 South Dakota 189 143 46 2,157 2,436 -279 Tennessee 2,509 2,583 -74 14,517 15,557 -1,040 Texas 17,156 16,189 967 141,328 144,428 -3,100 Utah 1,722 1,646 76 12,694 12,964 -270 Vermont 474 362 112 3,416 3,466 -50 Virgin Islands 19 11 8 210 134 76 Virginia 3,625 2,547 1,078 20,980 19,280 1,700 Washington 6,491 6,005 486 84,488 80,530 3,958 West Virginia 558 579 -21 6,930 6,478 452 Wisconsin 4,228 4,282 -54 27,387 27,010 377 Wyoming 384 336 48 2,546 2,396 150 US Total 213,873 201,757 12,116 1,892,872 1,921,526 -28,654 Note: Advance claims are not directly comparable to claims reported in prior weeks. Advance claims are reported by the state liable for paying the unemployment compensation, whereas previous weeks reported claims reflect claimants by state of residence. In addition, claims reported as "workshare equivalent" in the previous week are added to the advance claims as a proxy for the current week's "workshare equivalent" activity. 5 Seasonally Adjusted US Weekly UI Claims (in thousands) Change Change from from Initial Prior 4-Week Insured Prior 4-Week Week Ending Claims Week Average Unemployment Week Average IUR April 5, 2025 223 3 223.00 1,876 24 1,867.25 1.2 April 12, 2025 217 -6 221.00 1,840 -36 1,864.25 1.2 April 19, 2025 224 7 221.00 1,906 66 1,868.50 1.3 April 26, 2025 239 15 225.75 1,876 -30 1,874.50 1.2 May 3, 2025 228 -11 227.00 1,884 8 1,876.50 1.2 May 10, 2025 226 -2 229.25 1,889 5 1,888.75 1.2 May 17, 2025 225 -1 229.50 1,917 28 1,891.50 1.3 May 24, 2025 236 11 228.75 1,896 -21 1,896.50 1.2 May 31, 2025 244 8 232.75 1,947 51 1,912.25 1.3 June 7, 2025 246 2 237.75 1,935 -12 1,923.75 1.3 June 14, 2025 243 -3 242.25 1,960 25 1,934.50 1.3 June 21, 2025 236 -7 242.25 1,954 -6 1,949.00 1.3 June 28, 2025 231 -5 239.00 1,952 -2 1,950.25 1.3 July 5, 2025 228 -3 234.50 1,949 -3 1,953.75 1.3 July 12, 2025 221 -7 229.00 1,941 -8 1,949.00 1.3 July 19, 2025 218 -3 224.50 1,936 -5 1,944.50 1.3 July 26, 2025 219 1 221.50 1,963 27 1,947.25 1.3 August 2, 2025 226 7 221.00 1,942 -21 1,945.50 1.3 August 9, 2025 224 -2 221.75 1,957 15 1,949.50 1.3 August 16, 2025 233 9 225.50 1,942 -15 1,951.00 1.3 August 23, 2025 229 -4 228.00 1,937 -5 1,944.50 1.3 August 30, 2025 236 7 230.50 1,927 -10 1,940.75 1.3 September 6, 2025 259 23 239.25 1,925 -2 1,932.75 1.3 September 13, 2025 233 -26 239.25 1,916 -9 1,926.25 1.3 September 20, 2025 219 -14 236.75 1,921 5 1,922.25 1.3 September 27, 2025 225 6 234.00 1,929 8 1,922.75 1.3 October 4, 2025 233 8 227.50 1,928 -1 1,923.50 1.3 October 11, 2025 222 -11 224.75 1,947 19 1,931.25 1.3 October 18, 2025 231 9 227.75 1,953 6 1,939.25 1.3 October 25, 2025 221 -10 226.75 1,962 9 1,947.50 1.3 November 1, 2025 228 7 225.50 1,946 -16 1,952.00 1.3 November 8, 2025 228 0 227.00 1,949 3 1,952.50 1.3 November 15, 2025 222 -6 224.75 1,943 -6 1,950.00 1.3 November 22, 2025 218 -4 224.00 1,932 -11 1,942.50 1.3 November 29, 2025 216 -2 221.00 1,894 -38 1,929.50 1.2 December 6, 2025 235 19 222.75 1,887 -7 1,914.00 1.2 December 13, 2025 224 -11 223.25 1,910 23 1,905.75 1.2 December 20, 2025 215 -9 222.50 1,860 -50 1,887.75 1.2 December 27, 2025 203 -12 219.25 1,900 40 1,889.25 1.2 January 3, 2026 207 4 212.25 1,875 -25 1,886.25 1.2 January 10, 2026 201 -6 206.50 1,865 -10 1,875.00 1.2 January 17, 2026 210 9 205.25 1,823 -42 1,865.75 1.2 January 24, 2026 211 1 207.25 1,842 19 1,851.25 1.2 January 31, 2026 230 19 213.00 1,859 17 1,847.25 1.2 February 7, 2026 230 0 220.25 1,865 6 1,847.25 1.2 February 14, 2026 208 -22 219.75 1,827 -38 1,848.25 1.2 February 21, 2026 211 3 219.75 1,871 44 1,855.50 1.2 February 28, 2026 214 3 215.75 1,847 -24 1,852.50 1.2 March 7, 2026 213 -1 211.50 1,851 4 1,849.00 1.2 March 14, 2026 205 -8 210.75 1,816 -35 1,846.25 1.2 March 21, 2026 211 6 210.75 1,832 16 1,836.50 1.2 March 28, 2026 203 -8 208.00 1,787 -45 1,821.50 1.2 April 4, 2026 218 15 209.25 1,818 31 1,813.25 1.2 April 11, 2026 207 -11 209.75 6 INITIAL CLAIMS FILED DURING WEEK ENDED INSURED UNEMPLOYMENT FOR WEEK ENDED APRIL 4 MARCH 28 CHANGE FROM CHANGE FROM TOTAL LAST YEAR LAST YEAR INSURED STATE NAME STATE WEEK AGO UCFE 1 UCX 1 STATE (%) 2 WEEK AGO UCFE 1 UCX 1 UNEMPLOYMENT Alabama 1,675 81 -278 10 5 7,440 0.4 -117 -943 55 16 7,511 Alaska 453 8 -19 0 0 4,707 1.5 -97 -47 55 2 4,764 Arizona 2,967 313 -834 2 4 17,834 0.6 -199 -5,949 49 31 17,914 Arkansas 1,267 -133 -111 1 13 5,165 0.4 564 -2,095 9 2 5,176 California 40,140 2,130 -6,496 102 91 369,606 2.1 -11,939 -40,722 1,647 1,089 372,342 Colorado 3,468 807 112 3 7 32,574 1.1 -673 934 241 211 33,026 Connecticut 2,415 15 2 0 1 29,292 1.7 -163 -52 62 22 29,376 Delaware 255 -193 29 1 4 5,734 1.2 228 289 17 3 5,754 District of Columbia 607 137 -353 36 0 7,235 1.3 -413 -3,498 1,005 4 8,244 Florida 5,584 474 -1,108 24 23 30,039 0.3 546 -1,664 187 69 30,295 Georgia 3,540 -211 -1,530 28 17 24,256 0.5 -1,336 -4,403 241 82 24,579 Hawaii 1,126 -422 110 1 7 5,882 1.0 -482 483 53 35 5,970 Idaho 716 -17 -321 1 0 7,032 0.8 -908 -982 58 11 7,101 Illinois 9,758 1,652 -857 15 2 112,161 1.9 -5,203 -5,593 389 110 112,660 Indiana 2,727 448 231 4 8 20,972 0.7 -1,002 -2,473 40 20 21,032 Iowa 1,372 -37 -423 2 0 12,510 0.8 -4,037 -3,308 16 7 12,533 Kansas 1,029 36 -71 1 2 7,117 0.5 -838 -1,747 31 19 7,167 Kentucky 1,726 326 -573 1 0 11,418 0.6 -4,951 -1,004 101 24 11,543 Louisiana 910 -315 -598 1 0 5,966 0.3 -111 -4,817 36 12 6,014 Maine 592 35 -74 2 2 8,936 1.4 -240 342 35 5 8,976 Maryland 3,322 1,243 653 39 9 24,104 0.9 -802 -1,247 615 60 24,779 Massachusetts 4,544 700 -348 4 2 89,786 2.5 -2,472 9,669 289 68 90,143 Michigan 4,891 135 -719 4 5 76,233 1.8 -4,487 7,767 155 39 76,427 Minnesota 3,729 -218 -306 4 7 62,528 2.2 -3,344 -1,120 104 69 62,701 Mississippi 920 166 -20 3 1 5,589 0.5 -94 -559 57 4 5,650 Missouri 2,649 -282 -294 2 1 17,405 0.6 -738 -1,530 76 9 17,490 Montana 568 54 119 8 2 7,948 1.6 -1,060 -34 168 11 8,127 Nebraska 583 45 -61 0 1 6,151 0.6 -754 551 20 4 6,175 Nevada 2,773 423 172 0 2 25,401 1.7 -192 729 96 73 25,570 New Hampshire 504 73 145 0 1 4,457 0.7 -167 484 4 0 4,461 New Jersey 13,645 5,603 4,737 19 18 105,202 2.5 -5,769 -1,873 329 219 105,750 New Mexico 873 86 -42 3 2 10,225 1.2 -370 -534 132 27 10,384 New York 13,343 -1,592 -693 27 13 184,522 1.9 -7,591 14,497 610 239 185,371 North Carolina 2,977 78 -612 2 1 19,068 0.4 -206 -5,971 105 76 19,249 North Dakota 201 -92 -173 2 1 5,048 1.2 -419 515 14 3 5,065 Ohio 5,378 504 -813 5 13 52,468 1.0 -3,530 -6,234 122 58 52,648 Oklahoma 1,564 106 -128 7 5 10,438 0.6 -51 429 49 25 10,512 Oregon 8,097 2,182 1,725 10 4 41,042 2.1 3,612 5,516 395 76 41,513 Pennsylvania 10,954 2,513 1,617 18 15 92,746 1.6 -6,178 -4,428 519 128 93,393 Puerto Rico 702 -208 -593 2 0 14,583 1.6 -1,659 -552 292 77 14,952 Rhode Island 553 -187 -170 0 2 12,168 2.5 -1,016 176 40 13 12,221 South Carolina 1,977 173 -82 8 6 13,859 0.6 -471 -59 41 45 13,945 South Dakota 143 -22 -42 3 0 2,436 0.5 -248 5 15 2 2,453 Tennessee 2,583 -838 -2,889 2 5 15,557 0.5 -631 538 39 39 15,635 Texas 16,189 -1,299 -602 66 97 144,428 1.0 -8,106 -2,790 599 763 145,790 Utah 1,646 304 239 4 0 12,964 0.8 -630 -126 153 23 13,140 Vermont 362 59 -87 0 0 3,466 1.1 -184 171 1 0 3,467 Virgin Islands 11 5 -13 0 0 134 0.4 -90 -142 4 0 138 Virginia 2,547 297 -1,167 9 9 19,280 0.5 -465 1,682 254 73 19,607 Washington 6,005 506 -523 10 23 80,530 2.3 -2,394 2,224 537 379 81,446 West Virginia 579 22 -43 0 2 6,478 1.0 -758 -638 51 8 6,537 Wisconsin 4,282 -189 -562 6 3 27,010 0.9 -2,420 -4,127 58 6 27,074 Wyoming 336 15 -40 10 0 2,396 0.9 5 56 41 2 2,439 Totals 201,757 15,499 -14,777 512 436 1,921,526 1.3 -85,050 -64,204 10,311 4,392 1,936,229 Figures appearing in columns showing over-the-week changes reflect all revisions in data for prior week submitted by state agencies. 1. The Unemployment Compensation program for Federal Employees (UCFE) and the Unemployment Compensation for Ex-servicemembers (UCX) exclude claims filed jointly under other programs to avoid duplication. 2. Rate is not seasonally adjusted. The source of U.S. total covered employment is BLS. 7 UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED APRIL 4, 2026 STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 State Change State Supplied Comment NJ +5,603 No comment. PA +2,513 Layoffs in transportation and warehousing, accommodation and food services, administrative and support and waste management and remediation services, and in health care and social assistance industries. OR +2,182 Layoffs in the educational services industry. CA +2,130 No comment. IL +1,652 Layoffs in transportation and warehousing, construction, and in health care and social assistance industries. MD +1,243 No comment. STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 State Change State Supplied Comment NY -1,592 Fewer layoffs in accommodation and food services, construction, and manufacturing industries. TX -1,299 No comment. 8 TECHNICAL NOTES This news release presents the weekly unemployment insurance (UI) claims reported by each state's unemployment insurance program offices. These claims may be used for monitoring workload volume, assessing state program operations and for assessing labor market conditions. States initially report claims directly taken by the state liable for the benefit payments, regardless of where the claimant who filed the claim resided. These are the basis for the advance initial claims and continued claims reported each week. These data come from ETA 538, Advance Weekly Initial and Continued Claims Report. The following week initial claims and continued claims are revised based on a second reporting by states that reflect the claimants by state of residence. These data come from the ETA 539, Weekly Claims and Extended Benefits Trigger Data Report. A. Initial Claims An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The claimant requests a determination of basic eligibility for the UI program. When an initial claim is filed with a state, certain programmatic activities take place and these result in activity counts including the count of initial claims. The count of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions in the country. However, these are weekly administrative data which are difficult to seasonally adjust, making the series subject to some volatility. B. Continued Weeks Claimed A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment then files a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. On a weekly basis, continued claims are also referred to as insured unemployment, as continued claims reflect a good approximation of the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for UI benefits. The count of U.S. continued weeks claimed is also a good indicator of labor market conditions. While continued claims are not a leading indicator (they roughly coincide with economic cycles at their peaks and lag at cycle troughs), they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the U.S. economy. C. Seasonal Adjustments and Annual Revisions Over the course of a year, the weekly changes in the levels of initial claims and continued claims undergo regularly occurring fluctuations. These fluctuations may result from seasonal changes in weather, major holidays, the opening and closing of schools, or other similar events. Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year, their influence on the level of a series can be tempered by adjusting for regular seasonal variation. These adjustments make trend and cycle developments easier to spot. At the beginning of each calendar year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) with a set of seasonal factors to apply to the unadjusted data during that year. Concurrent with the implementation and release of the new seasonal factors, ETA incorporates revisions to the UI claims historical series caused by updates to the unadjusted data. For further questions on the seasonal adjustment methodology, please see the official release page for the UI claims seasonal adjustment factors or contact BLS directly through the Local Area Unemployment Statistics web contact form. Weekly Claims Archives Weekly Claims Data U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The Department's Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts Departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the Department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay). U.S. Department of Labor Program Contacts: Employment and Training Administration Lawrence S. Essien: (202) 693-3087 Washington, D.C. 20210 Media Contact: (202) 693-4676 Release Number: USDL 26-617-NAT 9