What Are Initial Jobless Claims? - TheStreet Definition

Dictionary of Financial Terms

What exactly? A measure of the number of people filing first-time claims for state unemployment insurance.

Source: Labor Department

Frequency: Weekly

Released when? Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Data for week ended prior Saturday.

Market importance: Some. Occasionally moves market. Timely. Considered a good gauge of the condition of the labor market and good indicator of the tone of the employment report.

Other notes: Series is volatile and subject to big revisions. The four-week average is used to gauge the underlying trend in claims.

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