Jobs · USDUsual scheduleLive week from the calendar

US jobless claims: release time and what it moves

US Department of Labor. Every Thursday (the Wednesday before when Thursday is a holiday), usually at 8:30 AM New York time. What it is, what traders watch and how the WhitePips rules treat trading around it.

  • Weeklyhow often
  • 8:30 AMNew York time
  • Amber or Redusual calendar rating

Jobless claims on this week's calendar

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Times in your own time zone and in New York; releases already out are dimmed. Red is high impact, Amber medium; the ratings are the calendar feed's.

JobsUSD

What Jobless claims is

US jobless claims

Initial jobless claims count the people who filed for unemployment benefits for the first time in the week. It is the most frequent read on the US labour market: a sustained rise in claims is often one of the first signs of layoffs.

One week is noisy, so traders watch the four-week average and continuing claims, the number still receiving benefits. Claims move markets most when the labour market is the main question for the Fed.

When it comes out

Published by
US Department of Labor
How often
Weekly
Usual day
Every Thursday (the Wednesday before when Thursday is a holiday)
Usual time
8:30 AM New York; 12:30 UTC while the US is on daylight time (March to November), 13:30 UTC in winter
On the calendar as
Unemployment Claims
Usual rating
Amber or Red

What traders watch

Initial claims against the forecast

The weekly surprise.

The four-week average

Smooths holidays and one-off spikes.

Continuing claims

How hard it is to find a new job once out of one.

On MetaTrader 5Pip value, lots and commission

Symbols Jobless claims moves

The WhitePips symbols that usually react most to Jobless claims. Each page has the pip or point value, a lot-size example and the commission on every plan.

EURUSDEuro / US dollarUSDJPYUS dollar / Japanese yenXAUUSDGoldUS500US 500USDIDXUS dollar index

Futures on Volumetrica: ESE-mini S&P 500GCGold

Trading Rules, section 11In the rules' own words

Trading Jobless claims at WhitePips

CFD plans Every plan, every stage

News trading is permitted on every CFD plan. You may open, hold and close positions before, during and after economic releases on every CFD plan, in the evaluation and once funded. There is no restricted window around a release on a CFD account, and no profit is removed because a trade was placed around news.

News straddling is not permitted. On every CFD plan, you may not open straddled, offsetting or hedged exposure on the same or correlated instruments within 15 minutes before or after a scheduled Red or Amber (high or medium impact) economic event, a company earnings release, or a major geopolitical announcement, where the purpose is to capture the volatility of the event rather than to take a view on its outcome. Placing a buy and a sell (or a buy stop and a sell stop) on the same instrument, or opposite positions on correlated instruments such as EURUSD and USDCHF, so that whichever way the price jumps one side profits, is straddling. A single position, or positions in one direction, taken on your own view of the release is not.

Trading Rules, sections 11.1 and 11.2. Each straddle is detected and referred to the risk desk, never penalised automatically.

Futures plans One Step funded, Instant

Futures plans. On the futures plans news trading is permitted during the One Step evaluation. On a funded futures account (One Step funded and Instant) no trade may be opened or closed from two minutes before to two minutes after a high-impact release; a position opened before the window may be held through it. Profit from such a trade is removed and the loss stays. The first and second violations are warnings, and the third is referred for compliance review. A news trading violation never ends an account automatically. The releases are those marked as high impact in the economic calendar shown in the dashboard or notified to you.

Trading Rules, section 11.4.

CFD plans: no straddling8:15 AM to 8:45 AM New YorkFunded futures: no trade opened or closed8:28 AM to 8:32 AMJobless claims 8:30 AM
−20 min−15−2+2+15+20 min
A single position taken on your own view, before or after the release, is fine on every CFD plan. On a funded futures account a position opened before the two-minute window may be held through it.

Section 11 of the Trading Rules News trading, explained

QuestionsShort answers

Jobless claims: questions

What time is Jobless claims released?

Usually at 8:30 AM New York time: 12:30 UTC while the US is on daylight time (March to November), 13:30 UTC in winter. Every Thursday (the Wednesday before when Thursday is a holiday).

How often is Jobless claims released?

Weekly. Every Thursday (the Wednesday before when Thursday is a holiday). The exact dates are set by the US Department of Labor; the dashboard's economic calendar shows the coming week.

Can I trade Jobless claims on a WhitePips account?

On every CFD plan, yes: news trading is allowed in the evaluation and once funded. What is not allowed is straddling, opening both directions (or offsetting positions on correlated instruments) within 15 minutes either side of a Red or Amber release to catch the spike; the risk desk reviews it. On a funded futures account, no trade may be opened or closed from two minutes before to two minutes after a high-impact release.

Which markets move most on Jobless claims?

On the WhitePips platforms: EURUSD, USDJPY, XAUUSD, US500, USDIDX, and on futures ES, GC.

Why do claims come out every week?

They come from state unemployment offices' weekly filings, so they can be counted quickly. That makes them the most up-to-date labour data there is, if the noisiest.

CFDs and futuresNo time limit

Put the numbers to work

Every plan, size and price, with the rules printed before you buy. News trading is allowed on every CFD plan.

See the plansTrading calculator