U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Declined in Most Recent Week
Summary
- Initial claims were lower than expected in the week ended December 14.
- Continuing claims remained steady.
- The insured unemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.2%.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 22,000 to 220,000, seasonally adjusted, in the week ended December 14, from the previous week’s unrevised level of 242,000. The Action Economic Forecast Survey had expected claims to be 231,000. The 4-week moving average was 225,500 in the December 14 week, an increase of 1,250 from 224,250 in the previous week. As mentioned last week, weekly claims figures can be distorted by the timing of Thanksgiving and the associated difficulty that presents to seasonally adjusting weekly data.
The total number of unemployment insurance beneficiaries was 1.874 million in the week ended December 7, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s level of 1.879 million, revised from 1.886 million. This total number of beneficiaries is also known as “continuing claims.” The 4-week moving average was 1.880 million in the week ended December 7, down 6,000 from 1.886 million in the previous week. The insured unemployment rate, that is, the total number of beneficiaries as a percent of covered employment, was unchanged at 1.2% in the week ended December 7.
Unemployment rates vary markedly across states. The Labor Department reports that for the week ended November 30, the insured unemployment rate was highest in New Jersey (2.46%), followed by California (2.30%), Washington (2.20%), Minnesota (2.11%), and Alaska (2.05%). The lowest rates were in Florida (0.39%), followed by Virginia (0.40%), South Dakota (0.43%), Alabama (0.46%), and New Hampshire (0.48%). Unemployment rates in other major states include Illinois (1.74%), New York and Massachusetts (both at 1.73%), Pennsylvania (1.70%), Michigan (1.35%), Texas (1.17%), and Ohio (0.95%). These state rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Data on weekly unemployment claims are from the Department of Labor, not the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They begin in 1967 and are contained in Haver’s WEEKLY database and summarized monthly in USECON. Data for individual states are in REGIONW back to December 1986. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics Forecast Survey in the AS1REPNA database.
Kathleen Stephansen, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Kathleen Stephansen is a Senior Economist for Haver Analytics and an Independent Trustee for the EQAT/VIP/1290 Trust Funds, encompassing the US mutual funds sponsored by the Equitable Life Insurance Company. She is a former Chief Economist of Huawei Technologies USA, Senior Economic Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group, Chief Economist of the American International Group (AIG) and AIG Asset Management’s Senior Strategist and Global Head of Sovereign Research. Prior to joining AIG in 2010, Kathleen held various positions as Chief Economist or Head of Global Research at Aladdin Capital Holdings, Credit Suisse and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette Securities Corporation.
Kathleen serves on the boards of the Global Interdependence Center (GIC), as Vice-Chair of the GIC College of Central Bankers, is the Treasurer for Economists for Peace and Security (EPS) and is a former board member of the National Association of Business Economics (NABE). She is a member of Chatham House and the Economic Club of New York. She holds an undergraduate degree in economics from the Universite Catholique de Louvain and graduate degrees in economics from the University of New Hampshire (MA) and the London School of Economics (PhD abd).
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