Unemployment claims fall to 206,000

New unemployment benefit claims fell by 6,000 last week, to 206,000, according to the Department of Labor.

In the week ending August 15, seasonally adjusted initial unemployment insurance claims stood at 206,000, compared with 212,000 the previous week—a figure that was revised upward from 209,000, according to the Department of Labor report.

The four-week moving average, which provides a smoother picture of claims trends by smoothing out weekly fluctuations, rose to 204,000, compared with 199,750 the previous week.

The Department of Labor considers initial claims to be a leading indicator of labor market conditions, as they reflect unemployed individuals who file a claim after leaving their employer.

Number of people receiving benefits rises

The number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits also increased during the week ending August 8.

The Department of Labor reported 1.799 million people with unemployment benefits, 18,000 more than the previous week. The unemployment rate remained at 1.2%.

The four-week average of individuals receiving unemployment benefits reached 1.789 million, an increase of 2,500 from the revised average of the previous week.

Across all programs, the number of continuing claims for benefits totaled 1,839,126 during the week ending August 1, 21,302 fewer than the previous week and below the 2,005,772 recorded in the comparable week of 2025.

Michigan, New York, and Texas saw the largest increases

State-level data show significant variations across different parts of the country.

During the week ending August 8, the largest increases in initial claims were recorded in Michigan, with 1,931 additional claims; New York, with 1,379; Texas, with 1,324; South Carolina, with 1,268; and Illinois, with 994.

In Michigan, initial claims rose from 4,485 to 6,416; in New York, they increased from 12,942 to 14,321; and in Texas, they rose from 13,730 to 15,054.