Overview
- Initial claims dipped by 1,000 to 209,000 for the week ended Jan. 24, slightly above the 205,000 consensus forecast.
- The prior week was revised up by 10,000 to 210,000, underscoring choppy year‑end seasonal adjustments and holiday effects.
- Continuing claims decreased by 38,000 to 1.827 million for the week ended Jan. 17, pointing to limited ongoing insured unemployment.
- The Labor Department flagged volatility tied to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and a recent winter storm, with analysts expecting more noise in coming weeks.
- UPS and Amazon announced layoffs this week, though economists see little impact on aggregate claims, and a government funding lapse could delay next Friday’s BLS jobs report.