Skip to main content
ECON DATATOOLS
← All Data Briefs

Labor Market · August 21, 2026 · 1 min read

Weekly Jobless Claims Fall to 206,000, But Continuing Claims Keep Climbing

By Econ Data Tools Editorial Team

Published August 21, 2026

Initial unemployment filings beat forecasts for the week ending August 15, even as continuing claims and the 4-week average point to lingering labor-market softness.

- **Weekly jobless claims fell to 206,000.** New unemployment filings for the week ending August 15 dropped 6,000 from the prior week's revised 212,000, beating the 210,000 forecast. Still, the 4-week moving average (a smoother trend gauge) rose to 204,000, suggesting some underlying softening beneath the improved headline number. - **Continuing claims climbed to 1.799 million.** Continuing claims — people still collecting unemployment benefits — rose 18,000 from the prior week, holding the insured unemployment rate at 1.2%. New Jersey and Puerto Rico posted the highest state rates at 2.6%, while New York's increase concentrated in professional services, construction, and healthcare layoffs.

Follow the data

Relevant directory links appear to be unassigned.

Sources

Related Briefs

Treasury’s August 20 Bill Auctions Set 3.701% and 3.727% Investment Rates

Treasury’s August 20 auction records show high investment rates of 3.701% for a $110 billion four-week bill offering and 3.727% for a $100 billion eight-week offering.

Treasury’s August 24 Bill Auctions Set 3.803% and 3.918% Investment Rates

Treasury awarded $92 billion of 13-week bills at a 3.803% high investment rate and $79 billion of 26-week bills at 3.918%, according to the Treasury Fiscal Data auction record.

Chicago Fed’s July Activity Index Fell to −0.08 as Its Three-Month Average Turned Negative

The Chicago Fed’s August 24 release put the CFNAI at −0.08 in July, down from +0.06 in June; the three-month average declined to −0.04 from +0.01.