--- source: U.S. Department of Labor url: https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf document_type: pdf date_retrieved: 2026-04-23 period: week ending April 18, 2026 (Initial Claims, 4-week Average); week ending April 11, 2026 (Continuing Claims) parent_publication: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims indicators_covered: ["Initial Jobless Claims", "Jobless Claims 4-week Average", "Continuing Jobless Claims"] --- 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 23, 2026 # Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending April 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 214,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 207,000 to 208,000. The 4-week moving average was 210,750, an increase of 750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 209,750 to 210,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending April 11, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 11 was 1,821,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 9,000 from 1,818,000 to 1,809,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,812,250, an increase of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 2,250 from 1,813,250 to 1,811,000. 1 UNADJUSTED DATA The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 205,306 in the week ending April 18, a decrease of 9,736 (or -4.5 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 15,998 (or -7.4 percent) from the previous week. There were 210,816 initial claims in the comparable week in 2025. The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent during the week ending April 11, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,863,090, a decrease of 20,212 (or -1.1 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 32,564 (or -1.7 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.2 percent and the volume was 1,880,372. The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending April 4 was 1,916,361, a decrease of 37,945 from the previous week. There were 1,973,275 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 April 4. Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 452 in the week ending April 11, a decrease of 60 from the prior week. There were 380 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 56 from the preceding week. There were 10,034 continued weeks claimed filed by former Federal civilian employees the week ending April 4, a decrease of 277 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 4,483, an increase of 91 from the prior week. 2 The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending April 4 were in New Jersey (2.5), Massachusetts (2.4), Rhode Island (2.3), Washington (2.2), Minnesota (2.1), California (2.0), New York (1.9), Oregon (1.9), Illinois (1.8), Michigan (1.7), Nevada (1.7), and Puerto Rico (1.7). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 11 were in New York (+8,145), Connecticut (+1,747), Georgia (+1,288), Virginia (+1,227), and Texas (+1,074), while the largest decreases were in Oregon (-3,773), Illinois (-2,112), Maryland (-910), New Jersey (-864), and Ohio (-492). 3 UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS WEEK ENDING April 18 April 11 Change April 4 Prior Year1 Initial Claims (SA) 214,000 208,000 +6,000 218,000 224,000 Initial Claims (NSA) 205,306 215,042 -9,736 201,757 210,816 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 210,750 210,000 +750 209,250 221,000 WEEK ENDING April 11 April 4 Change March 28 Prior Year1 Insured Unemployment (SA) 1,821,000 1,809,000 +12,000 1,787,000 1,840,000 Insured Unemployment (NSA) 1,863,090 1,883,302 -20,212 1,921,541 1,880,372 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 1,812,250 1,811,000 +1,250 1,821,500 1,864,250 Insured Unemployment Rate (SA)2 1.2% 1.2% 0.0 1.2% 1.2% Insured Unemployment Rate (NSA)2 1.2% 1.2% 0.0 1.3% 1.2% ### Initial Claims Filed in Federal Programs (Unadjusted) WEEK ENDING April 11 April 4 Change Prior Year1 Federal Employees (UCFE) 452 512 -60 657 Newly Discharged Veterans (UCX) 380 436 -56 340 ### Continued Weeks Claimed Filed for UI Benefits in All Programs (Unadjusted) WEEK ENDING April 4 March 28 Change Prior Year1 Regular State 1,876,885 1,914,946 -38,061 1,936,519 Federal Employees 10,034 10,311 -277 7,019 Newly Discharged Veterans 4,483 4,392 +91 4,364 Extended Benefits3 22 23 -1 163 State Additional Benefits4 3,599 3,495 +104 3,175 STC / Workshare 5 21,338 21,139 +199 22,035 TOTAL 1,916,361 1,954,306 -37,945 1,973,275 ## 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 18 Insured Unemployment For Week Ended April 11 STATE Advance Prior Wk Change Advance Prior Wk Change Alabama 1,706 1,812 -106 6,840 7,506 -666 Alaska 622 497 125 4,258 4,451 -193 Arizona 3,687 4,020 -333 17,541 18,631 -1,090 Arkansas 816 1,466 -650 4,140 4,537 -397 California 43,085 40,874 2,211 373,652 362,122 11,530 Colorado 3,522 3,645 -123 33,672 32,114 1,558 Connecticut 5,306 4,162 1,144 25,169 25,020 149 Delaware 297 757 -460 5,926 5,236 690 District of Columbia 526 651 -125 7,912 7,313 599 Florida 5,483 6,387 -904 26,594 29,169 -2,575 Georgia 4,818 4,828 -10 25,295 25,721 -426 Hawaii 1,352 1,072 280 6,212 5,821 391 Idaho 705 776 -71 5,452 6,523 -1,071 Illinois 7,093 7,646 -553 106,748 109,002 -2,254 Indiana 2,487 3,629 -1,142 21,063 20,966 97 Iowa 1,197 1,354 -157 8,375 10,211 -1,836 Kansas 1,260 1,957 -697 7,841 6,945 896 Kentucky 2,879 1,693 1,186 10,392 14,649 -4,257 Louisiana 1,183 1,540 -357 4,933 5,935 -1,002 Maine 554 605 -51 8,250 8,556 -306 Maryland 1,580 2,412 -832 22,973 24,511 -1,538 Massachusetts 4,326 4,335 -9 79,068 84,857 -5,789 Michigan 4,435 4,472 -37 67,284 72,066 -4,782 Minnesota 3,215 4,047 -832 58,167 61,168 -3,001 Mississippi 869 1,058 -189 5,379 5,726 -347 Missouri 2,185 2,544 -359 15,344 16,036 -692 Montana 584 561 23 6,667 7,867 -1,200 Nebraska 549 724 -175 5,431 5,813 -382 Nevada 2,424 2,796 -372 26,049 26,068 -19 New Hampshire 294 475 -181 3,537 4,445 -908 New Jersey 8,415 12,781 -4,366 107,052 106,150 902 New Mexico 779 768 11 10,508 9,889 619 New York 24,521 21,488 3,033 191,043 185,651 5,392 North Carolina 2,980 3,214 -234 17,902 18,905 -1,003 North Dakota 307 276 31 4,419 4,665 -246 Ohio 5,358 4,886 472 47,139 50,741 -3,602 Oklahoma 1,160 1,267 -107 9,624 9,654 -30 Oregon 4,809 4,324 485 37,779 36,553 1,226 Pennsylvania 8,077 10,901 -2,824 83,234 90,685 -7,451 Puerto Rico * 939 1,277 -338 14,657 16,133 -1,476 Rhode Island 711 683 28 10,470 11,261 -791 South Carolina 3,794 2,782 1,012 16,012 14,080 1,932 South Dakota 148 188 -40 1,869 2,119 -250 Tennessee 4,037 2,453 1,584 13,910 14,576 -666 Texas 16,081 17,263 -1,182 141,400 143,371 -1,971 Utah 1,554 1,722 -168 12,479 12,741 -262 Vermont 409 480 -71 3,463 3,213 250 Virgin Islands 31 20 11 176 192 -16 Virginia 2,239 3,774 -1,535 22,062 19,270 2,792 Washington 5,988 6,485 -497 84,529 79,496 5,033 West Virginia 556 579 -23 6,495 6,400 95 Wisconsin 2,969 4,187 -1,218 24,220 26,358 -2,138 Wyoming 405 449 -44 2,484 2,214 270 US Total 205,306 215,042 -9,736 1,863,090 1,883,302 -20,212 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. * Denotes OUI estimate. 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 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 1,809 22 1,811.00 1.2 April 11, 2026 208 -10 210.00 1,821 12 1,812.25 1.2 April 18, 2026 214 6 210.75 6 INITIAL CLAIMS FILED DURING WEEK ENDED INSURED UNEMPLOYMENT FOR WEEK ENDED APRIL 11 APRIL 4 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 1,812 137 -297 4 7 7,506 0.4 66 -562 51 14 7,571 Alaska 497 44 -58 3 0 4,451 1.4 -256 -141 53 2 4,506 Arizona 4,020 1,053 -419 7 5 18,631 0.6 797 -6,139 59 35 18,725 Arkansas 1,466 199 -29 0 0 4,537 0.4 -628 -2,448 14 4 4,555 California 40,874 734 -2,466 84 73 362,122 2.0 -7,484 -47,009 1,666 1,066 364,854 Colorado 3,645 177 329 5 5 32,114 1.1 -460 1,177 241 207 32,562 Connecticut 4,162 1,747 794 1 1 25,020 1.5 -4,272 -157 61 28 25,109 Delaware 757 502 475 1 3 5,236 1.1 -498 431 17 2 5,255 District of Columbia 651 44 -214 24 0 7,313 1.3 78 -3,405 919 6 8,238 Florida 6,387 803 -444 23 28 29,169 0.3 -870 -3,291 136 68 29,373 Georgia 4,828 1,288 -61 31 28 25,721 0.5 1,465 -3,487 296 96 26,113 Hawaii 1,072 -54 94 1 10 5,821 1.0 -76 600 41 62 5,924 Idaho 776 60 -296 1 0 6,523 0.8 -509 -784 43 8 6,574 Illinois 7,646 -2,112 -1,649 11 3 109,002 1.8 -3,159 -7,560 466 115 109,583 Indiana 3,629 902 525 4 2 20,966 0.7 -6 -1,874 45 25 21,036 Iowa 1,354 -18 -280 3 1 10,211 0.7 -2,299 -2,526 12 5 10,228 Kansas 1,957 928 585 0 3 6,945 0.5 -172 -2,098 24 20 6,989 Kentucky 1,693 -33 -4,898 1 0 14,649 0.7 3,231 3,923 63 40 14,752 Louisiana 1,540 630 -147 0 5 5,935 0.3 -31 -4,875 38 11 5,984 Maine 605 13 70 0 0 8,556 1.4 -380 199 30 5 8,591 Maryland 2,412 -910 -360 32 3 24,511 0.9 407 188 597 63 25,171 Massachusetts 4,335 -209 -520 1 0 84,857 2.4 -4,929 11,311 252 102 85,211 Michigan 4,472 -419 -2,150 2 2 72,066 1.7 -4,167 7,755 138 26 72,230 Minnesota 4,047 318 141 4 0 61,168 2.1 -1,360 -1,400 113 57 61,338 Mississippi 1,058 138 -22 2 0 5,726 0.5 137 -307 56 9 5,791 Missouri 2,544 -105 -2,373 3 1 16,036 0.6 -1,369 -1,931 67 17 16,120 Montana 561 -7 83 2 2 7,867 1.6 -81 -28 144 13 8,024 Nebraska 724 141 -7 1 0 5,813 0.6 -338 592 18 3 5,834 Nevada 2,796 23 28 0 0 26,068 1.7 667 1,286 89 72 26,229 New Hampshire 475 -29 140 0 1 4,445 0.7 -12 585 9 1 4,455 New Jersey 12,781 -864 3,003 18 23 106,150 2.5 948 1,911 343 229 106,722 New Mexico 768 -105 -75 3 0 9,889 1.2 -336 -710 82 25 9,996 New York 21,488 8,145 6,632 25 20 185,651 1.9 1,129 19,907 566 227 186,444 North Carolina 3,214 237 -352 7 0 18,905 0.4 -163 -5,887 105 74 19,084 North Dakota 276 75 -152 2 1 4,665 1.1 -383 169 8 4 4,677 Ohio 4,886 -492 -825 9 8 50,741 0.9 -1,727 -5,965 125 57 50,923 Oklahoma 1,267 -297 -1,281 5 5 9,654 0.6 -784 -371 43 30 9,727 Oregon 4,324 -3,773 -179 5 1 36,553 1.9 -4,489 3,897 386 73 37,012 Pennsylvania 10,901 -53 -294 15 12 90,685 1.5 -2,061 -1,887 499 109 91,293 Puerto Rico 1,277 575 -43 7 7 16,133 1.7 1,550 459 309 58 16,500 Rhode Island 683 130 -199 1 1 11,261 2.3 -907 -28 43 13 11,317 South Carolina 2,782 805 225 5 5 14,080 0.6 221 215 35 42 14,157 South Dakota 188 45 17 1 1 2,119 0.5 -317 -140 10 0 2,129 Tennessee 2,453 -130 -397 3 9 14,576 0.5 -981 -1,890 35 33 14,644 Texas 17,263 1,074 48 55 76 143,371 1.0 -1,057 -8,016 676 798 144,845 Utah 1,722 76 112 9 1 12,741 0.8 -223 -128 135 20 12,896 Vermont 480 118 48 0 0 3,213 1.1 -253 31 1 0 3,214 Virgin Islands 20 9 -1 0 0 192 0.6 58 -78 10 0 202 Virginia 3,774 1,227 504 20 9 19,270 0.5 -10 811 254 76 19,600 Washington 6,485 480 121 7 17 79,496 2.2 -1,034 1,205 471 396 80,363 West Virginia 579 0 -109 1 0 6,400 0.9 -78 -691 51 6 6,457 Wisconsin 4,187 -95 656 3 1 26,358 0.9 -652 -976 47 28 26,433 Wyoming 449 113 47 0 0 2,214 0.8 -182 21 42 3 2,259 Totals 215,042 13,285 -5,920 452 380 1,883,302 1.2 -38,239 -60,116 10,034 4,483 1,897,819 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 11, 2026 STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 State Change State Supplied Comment NY +8,145 Layoffs in transportation and warehousing, accommodation and food services, and public administration industries. CT +1,747 No comments. GA +1,288 Layoffs in the manufacturing, administrative and support and waste management and remediation services, health care and social assistance, and in professional, scientific, and technical industries. VA +1,227 Layoffs in manufacturing industry. TX +1,074 Layoffs in manufacturing industry. AZ +1,053 No comment. STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 State Change State Supplied Comment OR -3,773 No comments. IL -2,112 No comments. 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 26-659-NAT 9