U.S. jobless claims by state

For the week ended November 7, first-time claims for state unemployment benefits remained unchanged at 276,000. It is now the 36th consecutive week that the figure has held under 300,000, a common threshold for jobless claims coinciding with a healthy jobs market. Thursday’s jobless claims data came at the tail-end of a positive month for labor market strength indicators, including increased job growth and an unemployment rate at a seven-year low of 5%. The following visualizations highlight the decline in the total U.S. unemployment level and provide a state-by-state context for unemployment rates.