Global| Jan 16 2020U.S. Initial Claims for Jobless Insurance Ease and Continuing Claims Fall Back
Summary
Initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 10,000 to 204,000 (-6.0% y/y) in the week ended January 11 from 214,000 in the prior week, which was unrevised. It was the fifth straight weekly decline. The Action Economics [...]
Initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 10,000 to 204,000 (-6.0% y/y) in the week ended January 11 from 214,000 in the prior week, which was unrevised. It was the fifth straight weekly decline. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 215,000 initial claims. The four-week moving average of initial claims declined to 216,250 from 224,000.
Continuing claims for unemployment insurance in the week ended January 4 declined 37,000 to 1.767 million (+3.0% y/y) from the prior week's 1.804 million, which was revised modestly from 1.803 million. The four-week moving average of claimants rose to 1.756 million, the highest level since mid-March.
The insured rate of unemployment held at 1.2%, where it has been almost continuously since May 2018.
Insured unemployment rates continued to vary widely by state. During the week ending December 28, the lowest rates were in Florida (0.42%), North Carolina (0.48%), Nebraska (0.54%), Virginia (0.60%) and Arizona (0.63%). The highest rates were in Montana (2.44%), Rhode Island (2.57%), New Jersey (2.78%), Connecticut (2.81%) and Alaska (3.32%). Among the other largest states by population, the rate was 1.16% in Texas, 1.94% in New York and 2.09% in California. These state data are not seasonally adjusted.
Data on weekly unemployment claims dating back to 1967 are contained in Haver's WEEKLY database, and they are summarized monthly in USECON. Data for individual states are in REGIONW. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics Forecast Survey, carried in the AS1REPNA database.
| Unemployment Insurance (SA, 000s) | 01/11/20 | 01/04/20 | 12/28/19 | Y/Y % | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Claims | 204 | 214 | 223 | -6.0 | 218 | 220 | 244 |
| Continuing Claims | -- | 1,767 | 1,804 | 3.0 | 1,700 | 1,756 | 1,961 |
| Insured Unemployment Rate (%) | -- | 1.2 | 1.2 |
1.2 |
1.2 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
Carol Stone, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Carol Stone, CBE came to Haver Analytics in 2003 following more than 35 years as a financial market economist at major Wall Street financial institutions, most especially Merrill Lynch and Nomura Securities. She has broad experience in analysis and forecasting of flow-of-funds accounts, the federal budget and Federal Reserve operations. At Nomura Securites, among other duties, she developed various indicator forecasting tools and edited a daily global publication produced in London and New York for readers in Tokyo. At Haver Analytics, Carol is a member of the Research Department, aiding database managers with research and documentation efforts, as well as posting commentary on select economic reports. In addition, she conducts Ways-of-the-World, a blog on economic issues for an Episcopal-Church-affiliated website, The Geranium Farm. During her career, Carol served as an officer of the Money Marketeers and the Downtown Economists Club. She has a PhD from NYU's Stern School of Business. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has a weekend home on Long Island.
More Economy in Brief
