Global| Sep 04 2014U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Stay in Tight Range
Summary
Initial claims for jobless insurance during the week ended August 30 rose to 302,000 from 298,000 in the prior week, which was unrevised. The Action Economics Forecast Survey participants expected 300,000 in the latest week. The four- [...]
Initial claims for jobless insurance during the week ended August 30 rose to 302,000 from 298,000 in the prior week, which was unrevised. The Action Economics Forecast Survey participants expected 300,000 in the latest week. The four-week moving average of initial claims moved up from the prior 299,750 to 302,750.
Continuing claims for unemployment insurance in the week ended August 23 fell to 2.464 million (-15.8% y/y), setting a new recovery low; indeed, this was the lowest since 2.453 million for June 16, 2007. The four-week moving average slipped a bit further to 2.511 million. The insured rate of unemployment held at 1.9% for an eighth consecutive week.
By state in the week ended August 16, the insured rate of unemployment continued to vary greatly with South Dakota (0.33%), North Dakota (0.42%), Nebraska (0.74%), Utah (0.84%) and Indiana (0.94%) at the low end of the range. At the high end were California (2.68%), Pennsylvania (2.79%), Alaska (3.07%), Connecticut (3.10%) and New Jersey (3.34%). 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) | 08/30/14 | 08/23/14 | 08/16/14 | Y/Y % | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Claims | 302 | 298 | 299 | -7.9 | 343 | 375 | 409 |
| Continuing Claims | -- | 2,464 | 2,528 | -15.8 | 2,977 | 3,319 | 3,742 |
| Insured Unemployment Rate (%) | -- | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.3 (8/13) |
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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