Global| Oct 19 2017U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Applications Touch 1973 Low
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined to 222,000 during the week ended October 14 following a decline to 244,000 in the prior week. The Labor Department indicated that insurance applications were "severely disrupted" in [...]
Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined to 222,000 during the week ended October 14 following a decline to 244,000 in the prior week. The Labor Department indicated that insurance applications were "severely disrupted" in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands due to power outages caused by recent hurricanes. The latest figure was the lowest level of initial claims since 1973. Expectations had been for 250,000 first-time claims in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The four-week moving average declined to 248,250, its lowest point in over a month.
Continuing claims for unemployment insurance fell to 1.888 million (-8.7% y/y) in the week ended October 7 from 1.904 million the week before. The four-week moving average of claimants fell to 1.906 million.
The insured unemployment rate fell to a record low of 1.3% from a revised 1.4%.
Insured rates of unemployment varied widely across the country. For the week ended September 30, the recently high insured rate of unemployment in Texas declined sharply to 1.16% and neared its recent low. The lowest insured rates of unemployment were in South Dakota (0.22%), Nebraska (0.40%), Indiana (0.45%), North Carolina (0.47%), Utah (0.49%) and Florida (0.62%). The highest rates continued to be in Massachusetts (1.50%), Pennsylvania (1.60%), Connecticut (1.80%), California (1.82%), New Jersey (2.01%) and Alaska (2.19%). 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) | 10/14/17 | 10/07/17 | 09/30/17 | Y/Y % | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Claims | 222 | 244 | 258 | -12.3 | 263 | 278 | 308 |
| Continuing Claims | -- | 1,888 | 1,904 | -8.7 | 2,136 | 2,267 | 2,599 |
| Insured Unemployment Rate (%) | -- | 1.3 | 1.4 |
1.5 |
1.6 | 1.7 | 2.0 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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