U.S. Jobless Claims Down 18,000 in December 30 Week
Summary
- Latest week’s initial claims lower than forecast.
- December 23 week’s continuing claims down 31,000 from prior week.
- Insured unemployment rate at 1.2%, down slightly from prior week’s 1.3%.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped to 202,000 seasonally adjusted in the week ended December 30, down from 220,000 the week before; that earlier amount was revised marginally from 218,000. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 215,000 in the latest week. The four-week moving average of initial claims was 207,750 in the latest week, down from 212,500 in the prior week.
The amount of insured unemployment – also known as continuing claims or continued weeks claimed – was 1.855 million seasonally adjusted in the week ended December 23, down from 1.886 million the week before. That earlier week was revised up from 1.875 million initially reported.
The insured unemployment rate, that is, the amount of insured unemployment as a percentage of covered employment, was 1.2% in the December 23 week, down slightly from 1.3% in the prior week.
Insured unemployment rates vary widely by states and territories. In the week ended December 16, the highest rates were in New Jersey (2.37%), Alaska (2.22%), Montana (2.21%), California (2.12%), and Minnesota (2.09%). The lowest rates were in Virginia (0.33%), Florida (0.37%), Kentucky (0.40%), North Carolina and Kansas (each 0.41%), South Dakota (0.45%), and Tennessee (0.47%). Rates in other large states include Ohio (0.93%), Texas (1.05%), Illinois (1.77%), and Pennsylvania and New York (each 1.78%). These state rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Data on weekly unemployment claims are from the Department of Labor itself, not the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They go back to 1967 and are contained in Haver’s WEEKLY database and are 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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