Federal Jobless Claims Show Mixed Trends Amid Government Shutdown

Federal workers' initial unemployment claims continued to decline this week, though they remain elevated due to the ongoing government shutdown, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

For the week ending November 1st, 7,445 federal workers filed initial jobless claims, down from 8,665 the previous week, according to data compiled by NBC News. The decline represents a continued downward trend from over 10,000 claims filed two weeks prior.

However, continuing claims—which track workers who remain on unemployment benefits—are showing a sharp increase. More than 30,000 federal workers are now receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, up nearly 10,000 from the prior week.

The Labor Department noted that data from some states remains unavailable, indicating the actual totals could be higher than reported. The incomplete data suggests the full scope of the shutdown's impact on federal employment may not yet be captured in these figures.

The diverging trends—declining initial claims but surging continuing claims—suggest that while fewer federal workers are newly filing for unemployment each week, a growing number who previously filed remain out of work.