Initial Jobless Claims
Initial unemployment insurance claims (thousands, weekly)
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Category | macro |
| Unit | K |
| Resolution | 1d |
| Assets | MACRO |
| Tier | Basic |
| API Endpoint | GET /v1/macro/employment |
| Field | initial_claims |
Overview
Initial claims for state unemployment insurance, in thousands, weekly frequency (FRED ICSA). Released every Thursday by the Department of Labor with a 5-day lag, making it one of the highest-frequency labour-market indicators available.
Interpretation
- Low and stable claims (200K–250K): tight labour market, expansion regime.
- Rising claims (sustained moves above 300K–350K): early signal of labour-market deterioration and recession risk.
- Sudden spikes (e.g., March 2020): coincide with shock-driven recessions and aggressive monetary easing.
Use Cases
- Use as a real-time, high-frequency leading indicator of US economic turning points for BTC macro positioning.
- Combine with
macro_unemployment_rateandmacro_manufacturing_employmentto triangulate labour-market regime. - Track for inflection points that historically precede Fed pivots and major BTC trend changes.
API Usage
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
"https://api.blocklens.co/v1/macro/employment?start_date=2024-01-01&end_date=2024-12-31&limit=365"
Related Metrics
- Unemployment Rate — US civilian unemployment rate (%, monthly)
- Manufacturing Employment — All employees, manufacturing (thousands of persons, monthly)
- 10Y-2Y Yield Spread — 10-year minus 2-year Treasury yield spread (%, recession indicator)
- VIX Volatility Index — CBOE Volatility Index (points, daily)