Initial Claims for the Week Ended Mar 28
Updated: 03-Apr-26 10:36 ET





Highlights

• Initial jobless claims for the week ending March 28 fell by 9,000 to 202,000 (Briefing.com consensus 215,000) from last week's revised reading of 211,000 (from 210,000).
• Continuing claims increased by 25,000 to 1.841 million from last week's revised reading of 1.816 million (from 1.819 million).

Key Factors

• The four-week moving average for initial claims decreased by 3,000 to 207,750.
• The four-week moving average for continuing claims decreased by 7,500 to 1,838,750, the lowest level since September 28, 2024.
• The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending March 14 was 2,067,717, a decrease of 63,758 from the previous week. Claims filed in the comparable week a year ago totaled 2,103,858.

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from the report is that initial claims remain near the 200,000 mark, reflecting a low-firing environment.

Category	Mar 28	Mar 21	Mar 14	Mar 7	Feb 28
Initial Claims	202K	211K	205K	213K	214K
4-Wk Moving Avg	208K	211K	211K	212K	216K
Continued Benefits		1841K	1816K	1851K	1847K
4-Wk Moving Avg		1839K	1846K	1849K	1853K