Unemployment Claims remain elevated among both first-time and continuing filers. There were 264,000 Initial Jobless Claims reported in the latest week, matching the number of people from the previous week after that data was revised slightly higher. Continuing Claims came in at 1.759 million, though this was a slight decline from 1.772 million the week beforehand.

What’s the bottom line? Initial Jobless Claims have remained above 200,000 each week since February, with claims staying over 260,000 for the last three weeks, suggesting that these latest figures are a trend rather than an outlier. Continuing Claims are also significantly above the low point of 1.289 million filers seen last September, though they have declined from highs reached earlier this spring, due in part to benefits expiring for some people. Overall, this data reflects the challenges many are facing as they search for new employment.