WASHINGTON — First-time claims for unemployment benefits slipped by 1,000 last week, to 194,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Seasonally adjusted, the figure covers the week ending Oct. 24. The four-week average, a steadier gauge, fell 1,250 to 196,750, its lowest point in the year of weekly data released with the report.
The department also bumped up its count for the week before by 1,000, to 195,000.
A year ago, claims were higher. The same week in 2025 saw 221,000 adjusted filings.
The raw count told a slightly different story. Unadjusted claims rose by 5,648 to 178,851, a 3.3% increase. Seasonal models had called for a bit more, 6,040, or 3.5%. In the same week last year, 203,012 people filed.
Continuing claims
The number of people still collecting benefits also dropped. After seasonal adjustment, insured unemployment fell 21,000 to 1,701,000 in the week ending Oct. 17.
A week earlier, the count was revised down 6,000, to 1,722,000. The insured jobless rate stayed at 1.1%, down from 1.3% a year earlier. Its four-week average edged up by 500 to 1,710,000.
On an unadjusted basis, insured unemployment in state programs rose 14,007 to 1,490,071. Seasonal patterns had suggested a jump of 32,725.
Total continued weeks claimed across all programs reached 1,500,078 in the week ending Oct. 10. That’s 14,467 more than the week before, but well under the 1,712,123 claimed a year earlier. No state triggered the Extended Benefits program.
State changes
Michigan saw the largest increase in the week ending Oct. 17, with 1,906 more claims. State officials pointed to manufacturing layoffs. Kentucky added 471 and South Carolina 419.
Ohio went the other way. Claims there fell by 4,478, which the state credited to fewer layoffs in manufacturing. Tennessee, California, New York and Pennsylvania each reported drops of more than 1,500.
New York said fewer workers lost jobs in health care and social assistance, finance and insurance, and construction.
Virginia’s early count showed 2,176 initial claims for the week ending Oct. 24, compared with 1,766 the week before. Insured unemployment in the state rose from 18,778 to 20,478 in the week ending Oct. 17.
Those early state numbers don’t line up perfectly with prior weeks, the department cautioned. Advance figures are reported by the state that pays the benefits, while the previous week’s totals are based on where claimants live.
For the week ending Oct. 17, Virginia’s claims were down 1,409 from a year earlier. Its insured unemployment rate was 0.5% in the week ending Oct. 10.
Federal workers and veterans
Former federal civilian workers filed 442 initial claims in the week ending Oct. 17, down 113. In the same week last year, they filed 10,064.
Recently discharged veterans filed 387 claims, 40 fewer than the week before. Their continuing claims climbed by 1,057 to 5,875 in the week ending Oct. 10.
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