Global| Apr 05 2018U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Rebound, but Still Near 45-Year Low
Summary
Initial applications for jobless insurance climbed to 242,000 during the week ended March 31 from 218,000 in the prior week. That March 24 number is revised from 215,000. Despite the 24,000 increase in the latest week, initial claims [...]
Initial applications for jobless insurance climbed to 242,000 during the week ended March 31 from 218,000 in the prior week. That March 24 number is revised from 215,000. Despite the 24,000 increase in the latest week, initial claims were still the lowest since November 1973. Expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey had been for a more modest increase to 223,000 claims. The four-week moving average rose to 228,250.
In the week ended March 24, continuing claims for unemployment insurance declined 3.4% to 1.808 million (-10.7% y/y). The four-week moving average of claimants declined to 1.848 million; this, as last week, is the lowest level since January 5, 1974, when it was 1.838 million.
The insured rate of unemployment was still at the record low of 1.3%.
Insured rates of unemployment varied widely by state. During the week ended March 17, the lowest rates of unemployment were Florida (0.48%), North Carolina (0.50%), Georgia (0.62%), Virginia (0.65%) and Indiana (0.66%). The highest rates were in Rhode Island (2.45%), Montana (2.46%), New Jersey (2.74%), Connecticut (2.89%), and Alaska (3.58%). These state data are not seasonally adjusted.
Data on weekly unemployment insurance 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) | 03/31/18 | 03/24/18 | 03/17/18 | Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Claims | 242 | 218 | 227 | 0.4 | 245 | 263 | 278 |
| Continuing Claims | -- | 1,808 | 1,872 | -10.7 | 1,961 | 2,136 | 2,267 |
| Insured Unemployment Rate (%) | -- | 1.3 | 1.3 |
1.5 |
1.4 | 1.6 | 1.7 |
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.
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