For the week ending, ending April 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 184,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level- reflecting a still-tight labor market.

                By                    Yaёl Bizouati-Kennedy

Economists anticipated a slight decrease to 180,000, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Connecticut saw by far the largest increase in new claims, followed by New Jersey and California, according to the Labor Department data.

In terms of states that saw the largest decrease in new claims, Missouri led the pack by far, with a 7,656 decrease, the data shows. Other states that saw drops in claims include:

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  • Michigan – 3,681 Ohio – 3,095 New York – 2,893 Texas – 2,442 Illinois – 1,695

The largest increases in initial claims for the previous week, ending April 9 were in Missouri (7,194), Michigan (5,950), California (3,215), Indiana (3,193) and Texas (2,617).

Some states saw decreases in initial claims, the largest drops were in Ohio (-3,886), Wisconsin (-1,159), Oklahoma (-776), Utah (-270) and Hawaii (-219).

In addition, the Labor Department data shows that in Missouri layoffs were in the manufacturing, healthcare and social assistance, and administrative and support and waste management and remediation services industries.

In Michigan, there were mostly layoffs in the manufacturing industry. In California, layoffs were in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry.

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania layoffs were in the administrative and support and waste management and remediation services, construction, and health care and social assistance industries. In New York layoffs were in the construction, health care and social assistance, and professional, scientific, and technical services industries. And in Illinois, layoffs were in the manufacturing, construction, and other services industries.

The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 to 186,000, from 185,000.

The 4-week moving average was 177,250, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 500 from 172,250 to 172,750.

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Despite the slight weekly increase, the figure continues to underscore how far the job market has recovered. For the corresponding week a year ago, claims were standing at 566,000, according to Labor Department data.