Global| Aug 24 2017U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Edge Up 2,000
Summary
Initial unemployment insurance applications rose to 234,000 (-10.0% y/y) during the week ended August 19 from an unrevised 232,000 during the prior week. Expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey were for 238,000 claims. [...]
Initial unemployment insurance applications rose to 234,000 (-10.0% y/y) during the week ended August 19 from an unrevised 232,000 during the prior week. Expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey were for 238,000 claims. The four-week moving average eased to 237,750 from 240,500.
Continuing claims for unemployment insurance were unchanged at 1.954 million (-8.6% y/y) in the week ended August 12, following a decline from 1.956 million in the prior week. The four-week moving average of claimants declined to a lessened 1.958 million.
The insured unemployment rate remained at the record low of 1.4%.
Insured rates of unemployment vary widely across the country. For the week ended August 5, the lowest rates were in South Dakota (0.31%), Indiana (0.51%), Nebraska (0.53%), Utah (0.55%) and North Carolina (0.56%). The highest rates were found in California (2.01%), Alaska (2.14%), Pennsylvania (2.18%), Connecticut (2.41%) and New Jersey (2.66%). 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) | 08/19/17 | 08/12/17 | 08/05/17 | Y/Y % | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Claims | 234 | 232 | 244 | -10.0 | 263 | 278 | 308 |
| Continuing Claims | -- | 1,954 | 1,954 | -8.6 | 2,136 | 2,267 | 2,599 |
| Insured Unemployment Rate (%) | -- | 1.4 | 1.4 |
1.6 |
1.6 | 1.7 | 2.0 |
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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