US jobless benefits rolls in mid-October were the highest since August, Labor Dept says

By Reuters | Posted - Nov. 18, 2025 at 8:02 p.m.


People wait in a line outside a newly reopened career center for in-person appointments in Louisville, Ky., April 15, 2021. Jobless benefits rolls in mid-October were the highest since August, according to the Labor Department. (Amira Karaoud, Reuters )

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WASHINGTON — The number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits stood at a two-month high in mid-October at the time when the Labor Department would have been conducting its survey of U.S. households for the monthly employment report that has been held up by the recently ended government shutdown.

Continued claims for jobless benefits — those receiving benefits beyond an initial week of relief — rose to 1.95 million in the week ended Oct. 18, updated figures posted to a Labor Department website showed on Tuesday. That was up 10,000 from the prior week and was the highest since early August. It was up notably from the 1.91 million level in the week ended Sept. 13, the last week of data to have been reported prior to the start of the shutdown on Oct. 1.

New claims for benefits in the Oct. 18 week totaled 232,000, up from 219,000 in the week ended Sept. 20, the final week reported before the shutdown. That level, though, was well within the range of new claims over the months leading up to the shutdown.

The Labor Department conducts its monthly surveys for the monthly employment report during the week containing the 12th day of the month.

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Business
Number receiving unemployment benefits highest since August: Labor Department

by Max Rego 11/18/25 02:17 PM ET

More than 1.9 million Americans filed claims for unemployment benefits in mid-October, the highest mark since early August, according to data from the Department of Labor.

For the week ending Oct. 18, 1.957 million people filed for unemployment insurance, with 232,000 filing new claims. The data, compiled by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, is seasonally adjusted.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment marked an increase of 10,000 people relative to the week ending Sept. 20 and the highest number since 1.961 million people did so in the week ending Aug. 9.

Since then, the number of Americans filing for unemployment ranged from 1.916 million to 1.947 million across six weekly reports.

The agency did not tabulate data for the weeks ending Sept. 27, Oct. 4 and Oct. 11, amid the government shutdown. The record-long funding lapse, which shut down services for dozens of federal agencies, ended after 43 days.

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