What are continuing claims?

Continuing claims, also called insured unemployment, measure the number of people who have filed for unemployment insurance benefits, received them for at least one week, and continue to file for benefits in subsequent weeks. Published weekly by the Department of Labor with a two-week lag, continuing claims provide a higher-frequency read on labor market conditions than the monthly employment report.

While initial jobless claims capture the flow of new layoffs, continuing claims capture the stock of people who remain unemployed and are struggling to find new work. This distinction is important. Initial claims can spike temporarily due to seasonal factors, weather events, or a single large layoff, then quickly reverse. But if continuing claims are rising persistently, it means newly laid-off workers are not finding reemployment quickly, which is a much more concerning signal about the health of the labor market.

The level of continuing claims relative to the labor force provides context. During the tight labor market of 2022-2023, continuing claims hovered near 1.7 million, reflecting a labor market where laid-off workers found new positions quickly. A sustained rise above 2 million would signal meaningful deterioration, as workers cycle through their benefit periods without finding employment. The 4-week moving average smooths out volatility and provides a cleaner trend signal than any single week's reading.

One important limitation is that continuing claims only capture workers who are eligible for and receiving state unemployment insurance. This excludes self-employed workers, independent contractors, workers who have exhausted their benefits, and those who did not earn enough to qualify. As a result, continuing claims undercount total unemployment, particularly during prolonged downturns when benefit exhaustion becomes significant. Despite this limitation, the weekly frequency and timeliness of the data make continuing claims one of the most useful real-time indicators for tracking the pace of labor market change.