• Prior week 213K
  • Initial jobs claims 205K vs 215K estimate
  • 4 week moving average of initial jobless claims 210.75K versus 211.50K last week.
  • Continuing claims 1.857M vs 1.850M estimate. Prior week 1.850M
  • 4 week moving average of continuing claims 1.850M versus 1.852M last week
  • The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 7 were in Missouri (+3,907), Virginia (+1,670),
    Pennsylvania (+1,292), California (+911), and Massachusetts (+779),
  • The largest decreases were in New York
    (-14,567), Michigan (-2,549), New Jersey (-616), Connecticut (-471), and Vermont (-468).

The dominant theme is a “low-hire, low-fire” . The data reflects stability in the labor market amid a low-firing backdrop combined with slowing hiring.

Low claims don’t mean the labor market is entirely healthy. Hiring can slow at the same time layoffs remain low, creating a market where people who have jobs keep them but people looking for work struggle to find new opportunities. Looking at the JOLTs job openings, they have declined from 7980K to 6946K more recently. Hires have similarly seen a decline.

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JOLTS: Job Openings vs. Hires (Last 12 Months)

All levels are in thousands, seasonally adjusted.

Month Job Openings (Level) Hires (Level)
Jan 2026 (p) 6,946 5,295
Dec 2025 6,550 5,272
Nov 2025 6,846 5,121
Oct 2025 7,170 5,304
Sep 2025 7,169 5,350
Aug 2025 7,227 5,410
Jul 2025 7,181 5,390
Jun 2025 7,437 5,420
May 2025 7,769 5,480
Apr 2025 7,820 5,510
Mar 2025 7,950 5,620
Feb 2025 7,980 5,740

(p) = Preliminary data

Key Takeaways from the Data:

  • The 2025 Slump: You can see a steady decline in both openings and hiring through 2025. Job openings reached a multi-year low in December 2025 (6.55 million) before showing signs of life again in January.

  • Hire-to-Opening Ratio: Throughout the year, job openings significantly outnumbered actual hires, though the gap narrowed as the labor market “cooled.”

  • Sector Shifts: The recent January 2026 bump was driven largely by Finance and Insurance and Healthcare, while sectors like transportation and warehousing saw a decrease in hiring activity.

REVISION TO SEASONAL ADJUSTMENT FACTORS
Note: This week’s release reflects the annual revision to the weekly unemployment claims seasonal adjustment
factors. The seasonal adjustment factors used for the UI Weekly Claims data from 2021 forward, along with the
resulting seasonally adjusted values for initial claims and continuing claims, have been revised. For more information
regarding the seasonal adjustment methodology, please see the additional information at the end of this news release.

Initial jobless claims are a weekly U.S. Department of Labor report measuring new filings for unemployment benefits, serving as a leading indicator of economic health. the report is released on Thursdays, this data helps analysts track real-time labor market trends and forecast employment rates.