Global| Dec 31 2014U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Rise Modestly
Summary
Initial unemployment insurance claims during the week ended December 27 rose to 298,000 (-13.4% y/y) after declining to 281,000 in the prior week, revised marginally from 280,000. The four-week moving average of initial claims thus [...]
Initial unemployment insurance claims during the week ended December 27 rose to 298,000 (-13.4% y/y) after declining to 281,000 in the prior week, revised marginally from 280,000. The four-week moving average of initial claims thus moved up to 290,750 from 290,500. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected a smaller increase to 289,000 claims in the latest week.
Continuing claims for unemployment insurance in the week ended December 20 decreased to 2.353 million (-17.1% y/y) from 2.406 million. The four-week moving average eased to 2.414 million.
The insured rate of unemployment held at 1.8%, where it has been since early September.
By state, in the week ended December 13, the insured rate of unemployment continued to vary greatly with South Dakota at 0.70%, Nebraska at 0.90% and Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia, Utah and North Dakota, all at 1.00%, at the low end of the range. At the high end were California at 2.80%, Pennsylvania at 2.90%, Puerto Rico and New Jersey at 3.10%, and Alaska at 4.90%. These 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 survey, carried in the AS1REPNA database.
| Unemployment Insurance (000s) | 12/27/14 | 12/20/14 | 12/13/14 | Y/Y % | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Claims | 298 | 281 | 289 | -13.4 | 343 | 375 | 409 |
| Continuing Claims | -- | 2,353 | 2,406 | -17.1 | 2,977 | 3,319 | 3,742 |
| Insured Unemployment Rate (%) | -- | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.2 (12/13) |
2.3 | 2.6 | 3.0 |
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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