Labor Market

All Employees, Total Nonfarm

Total U.S. employment excluding farm workers — the broadest monthly labor market measure. Reported on the first Friday of each month (jobs report). Monthly changes drive major market moves. Use for labor market trend analysis, cycle identification, and Fed reaction function modeling. Monthly frequency.

Continued Claims (Insured Unemployment)

Workers receiving ongoing unemployment benefits — a measure of how long the unemployed stay out of work. Lags initial claims by one week but confirms whether job loss is persistent. Use alongside initial claims for a complete unemployment picture. Weekly frequency.

Initial Claims

Weekly count of new unemployment insurance claims — the most timely labor market indicator available. Released every Thursday, one week lag. First sign of labor market deterioration. Use for real-time recession monitoring and NFP forecasting. Weekly frequency with full derived metrics.

Job Openings: Total Nonfarm

Total unfilled job positions across the U.S. economy from the JOLTS survey. Measures labor demand. Use to assess labor market tightness, compare with unemployment for supply/demand balance, and feed into the Job Openings to Unemployed ratio signal. Monthly frequency.

Unemployment Rate

Share of the labor force actively looking for work. The headline unemployment rate from the BLS household survey. Use for labor market slack assessment, Phillips curve analysis, and recession identification. Monthly frequency, history back to 1948.