Jobs · September 27, 2026 · 1 min read

Initial jobless claims fall to 197,000 in week ended September 19

Published September 27, 2026 • Updated September 27, 2026

Reviewed by Instinct source review

The Labor Department reported 197,000 seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims, down 1,000 from the prior revised week. The four-week average fell 1,750 to 202,250.

The U.S. Department of Labor said seasonally adjusted initial unemployment insurance claims were 197,000 in the week ending September 19, 2026, a decline of 1,000 from the previous week's revised 198,000. That prior reading was revised upward by 2,000 from the initial estimate of 196,000. The department's four-week moving average fell by 1,750 to 202,250, compared with a revised 204,000 the week before. These weekly applications are an early measure of new claims, not a count of all unemployed people or a direct measure of hiring. They can be revised and may fluctuate from week to week. The figures were released September 24 in a dated Labor Department bulletin for the September 19 reference week. The department's current PDF endpoint was serving a different reporting week when checked, so this story links the dated bulletin rather than presenting the stale PDF as the September source. The decline is modest: one thousand fewer claims than the revised prior week. It does not by itself establish the pace of layoffs across all industries, the direction of payroll employment, or the Federal Reserve's next move. Readers should compare the next claims release and the forthcoming employment report before drawing a broader labor-market conclusion.

Follow the data

Relevant directory links appear to be unassigned.

Sources

Source 1 — Submitted by the validated Drive bridge

Related News

WTI settles at $91.11 and Brent at $102.25 on October 2 as G7 plans 100 million barrel release

EnergyNow reports WTI crude settled at $91.11 a barrel on October 2, 2026, down $1.76 or 1.90% from Thursday's $92.87, while Brent settled at $102.25. Europe and the G7 agreed to release emergency diesel and other stocks totaling 100 million barrels.

Fed reserve balances average $2.948 trillion in week ended September 30, H.4.1 shows

The Federal Reserve's H.4.1 release of October 1, 2026 shows reserve balances averaged $2,948.1 billion in the week ended September 30, up $17.9 billion on the week and down $18.0 billion from a year earlier.

Fed Vice Chair Jefferson: GDP grew 2.4% in first half, inflation 'too high for too long'

In an October 1, 2026 speech, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said GDP grew at a 2.4% pace in the first half of 2026, the unemployment rate was 4.1% in August and 12-month PCE inflation was 3.4% in August. The FOMC raised the funds rate range to 3.75% to 4.00% in September.