Posted on October 1, 2026

On Thursday, the US Department of Labor reported that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 197,000 for the week ending Saturday, September 26, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 198,000 (originally 197,000). The four-week moving average was 200,000—a decrease of 2,500 from the prior week’s revised average of 202,500 (originally 202,250).

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending September 19 was 1,701,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,712,000 (originally 1,719,000). The four-week moving average was 1,723,750—a decrease of 18,500 from the prior week’s revised average of 1,742,250 (originally 1,744,000).

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.1% for the week ending September 19, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.

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