U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Rise Slightly from Multi-Decade Low
Summary
Initial claims for unemployment insurance increased to 217,000 during the week ended July 21, 9,000 higher than the 208,000 of the prior week. That was revised up by 1,000, but it remains the lowest since December 6, 1969. The Action [...]
Initial claims for unemployment insurance increased to 217,000 during the week ended July 21, 9,000 higher than the 208,000 of the prior week. That was revised up by 1,000, but it remains the lowest since December 6, 1969. The Action Economics Forecast Survey looked for 215,000 claims in the latest period. The four-week moving average of initial claims was 218,000, compared with 220,750 the week before.
In the week ending July 14, continuing claims for unemployment insurance eased to 1.745 million from 1.753 million the week before; that was revised from 1.751 million. The four-week moving average of claimants was 1.746 million, up from 1.738 million in the July 7 week.
The insured rate of unemployment remained at its record low of 1.2% for the eleventh week in a row and the twelfth of the last 13 weeks.
Insured rates of unemployment varied widely by state. During the week ended July 7, the lowest rates were in South Dakota (0.29%), Indiana (0.48%), North Carolina (0.49%), Nebraska (0.50%), and Florida (0.53%). The highest rates were in Alaska (2.02%), Pennsylvania (2.04%), Rhode Island (2.07%), Connecticut (2.33%), and New Jersey (2.52%). Among some other states, the rate was 1.63% in New York, 1.59% in Illinois and 1.09% in Texas. 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) | 07/21/18 | 07/14/18 | 07/07/18 | Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Initial Claims | 217 | 208 | 215 | -10.3 | 245 | 262 | 278 |
Continuing Claims | -- | 1,745 | 1,753 | -11.1 | 1,961 | 2,135 | 2,266 |
Insured Unemployment Rate (%) | -- | 1.2 | 1.2 |
1.4 |
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.