New layoffs
Initial claims count new applications for unemployment insurance. Lower readings generally suggest fewer recent job separations.
US economic report · Employment
US Initial Jobless Claims
Weekly unemployment claims and market reaction
A permanent release record for advance US initial unemployment-insurance claims, pairing the reported weekly level with consensus and the first five minutes of cross-market price action.
UI
Release summary
Initial claims were lower than consensus.
Initial claims were 187K versus 210K expected and 208K previously. Lower claims generally indicate fewer new layoffs. This is historical context, not a trading signal.
Latest figures
Actual vs forecast
Claims are displayed in thousands of people. A lower-than-forecast reading is generally interpreted as firmer for the labour market.
| Measure | Actual | Forecast | Previous | Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial jobless claims | 187K | 210K | 208K | -23K |
Recorded market reaction
Weekly claims, tick by tick
XAUUSDGold / US dollar
Last bid before release4,074.51
5 sec after release-0.049%bid 4,072.52
30 sec after release-0.117%bid 4,069.73
1 min after release-0.081%bid 4,071.19
5 min after release+0.004%bid 4,074.68
The chart plots 832 stored bid ticks for XAUUSD. Moves use the last bid before 12:30 UTC as baseline and do not represent an executable fill.
Instrument coverage
Rates, the dollar and risk assets
Gold and USDJPY reflect rate and dollar repricing. US100, US30 and Bitcoin add equity and broader risk context.
- XAUUSD Gold / US dollar
- Gold priced in US dollars; claims surprises can affect growth, rate and dollar expectations.
- USDJPY US dollar / Japanese yen
- A major dollar pair that can respond to changes in US growth and interest-rate expectations.
- US100 Nasdaq 100
- A reference price for the Nasdaq-100 equity index, balancing labour-market growth signals against rate expectations.
- US30 Dow Jones 30
- A reference price for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the perceived US growth outlook.
- BTCUSD Bitcoin / US dollar
- Bitcoin priced in US dollars; included as a separate risk-sensitive market observation.
Three-release record
Latest Initial Jobless Claims releases
Each record preserves the reported claims level, consensus and the observed five-minute cross-market reaction.
Jul 23, 2026Week ending July 18, 2026Firmer than consensusOpen recordClose record
1 of 1 tracked readings were below consensus, 0 were above and 0 matched. Direction on this page accounts for the inverse interpretation of the claims level.
Published figures
| Measure | Actual | Forecast | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial jobless claims | 187K | 210K | 208K |
Recorded reaction
| Market | 5 sec | 30 sec | 1 min | 5 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAUUSD | -0.049% | -0.117% | -0.081% | +0.004% |
| USDJPY | +0.018% | +0.013% | +0.010% | +0.017% |
| US100 | -0.031% | -0.051% | -0.021% | -0.098% |
| US30 | -0.025% | -0.015% | +0.010% | +0.009% |
| BTCUSD | -0.107% | -0.082% | -0.104% | -0.217% |
Jul 16, 2026Week ending July 11, 2026Firmer than consensusOpen recordClose record
1 of 1 tracked readings were below consensus, 0 were above and 0 matched. Direction on this page accounts for the inverse interpretation of the claims level.
Published figures
| Measure | Actual | Forecast | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial jobless claims | 208K | 217K | 215K |
Recorded reaction
| Market | 5 sec | 30 sec | 1 min | 5 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAUUSD | -0.140% | +0.102% | +0.081% | -0.047% |
| USDJPY | +0.010% | +0.007% | +0.014% | +0.033% |
| US100 | +0.024% | +0.021% | +0.020% | +0.037% |
| US30 | +0.010% | +0.004% | -0.007% | +0.017% |
| BTCUSD | +0.019% | -0.031% | -0.026% | -0.091% |
Jul 9, 2026Week ending July 4, 2026Firmer than consensusOpen recordClose record
1 of 1 tracked readings were below consensus, 0 were above and 0 matched. Direction on this page accounts for the inverse interpretation of the claims level.
Published figures
| Measure | Actual | Forecast | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial jobless claims | 215K | 217.5K | 215K |
Recorded reaction
| Market | 5 sec | 30 sec | 1 min | 5 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAUUSD | +0.005% | +0.040% | +0.032% | +0.221% |
| USDJPY | -0.002% | -0.001% | +0.003% | -0.001% |
| US100 | +0.014% | -0.003% | +0.008% | +0.078% |
| US30 | +0.007% | +0.009% | +0.008% | +0.028% |
| BTCUSD | -0.056% | -0.083% | -0.082% | -0.038% |
The public archive is intentionally limited to the latest three release events.
Market context
Why weekly claims move markets
Initial claims offer a frequent read on emerging job loss between monthly employment reports. A sustained change can influence expectations for labour demand, consumer income and the Federal Reserve path.
Claims surprise→Labour-market signal→Growth and Fed outlook→Cross-market repricing
Weekly volatility
Holidays, weather, seasonal adjustment and state-level processing can make a single week noisy, so trends often matter more than one observation.
Consensus surprise
A lower-than-expected number is usually firmer for labour conditions; a higher number can point to greater labour-market stress.
Market response
Gold, the dollar and equities may react differently depending on whether growth expectations or changing interest-rate expectations dominate.
Claims are revised and do not cover every unemployed person. Continuing claims, the four-week average, payroll data, simultaneous releases and market positioning can change the interpretation or reverse the first move.
Indicator guide
What Initial Jobless Claims measure
The advance figure counts people filing an initial claim for unemployment-insurance benefits during the reference week, reported on a seasonally adjusted basis.
- Initial claim
- A new application for unemployment-insurance benefits following a separation from employment.
- Seasonal adjustment
- A statistical adjustment intended to make recurring holiday and seasonal patterns more comparable across weeks.
- Four-week average
- A smoother companion series that reduces the impact of unusually volatile individual weeks.
- Continuing claims
- A separate, lagged measure of people who continue to claim unemployment benefits after the initial filing.
Methodology
How this page is assembled
The release table preserves the actual, consensus and previous values stored with the calendar record. A snapshot is generated only after the reported actual and forecast are available and the release has settled.
The latest chart plots every stored bid tick from 30 seconds before publication through the selected horizon. Reaction percentages use the last bid before release as baseline. Timestamps are UTC; moves do not establish an executable fill, spread, slippage or profitability.
News trading context
From weekly claims to a measured news-trading workflow.
ToxicTraders connects scheduled macro releases, actual-versus-forecast evaluation, configured strategy logic, execution connections and post-trade review. This research page records historical reactions; the platform is where traders configure their own workflow.
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