U.S. Unemployment Insurance Claims Ease Just 2,000 in August 24 Week
Summary
- Initial claims at 231,000 in August 24 week, 4,000 less than forecast.
- Continuing claims up 13,000 in August 17 week.
- Insured unemployment rate holds at 1.2%.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance were 231,000, seasonally adjusted, in the week ended August 24, down just 2,000 from the previous week’s 233,000, revised from 232,000 reported before. The Action Economics Forecast Survey looked for 235,000 in the August 24 week. The four-week moving average of initial claims was 231,500 in that August 24 week, down from 236,250 the prior week.
The total number of unemployment insurance beneficiaries, also known as “insured unemployment” or “continuing claims,” was 1.868 million in the week ended August 17, up from 1.855 million the week before. That earlier week’s amount was revised down from 1.863 million reported initially. The four-week moving average of continuing claims was 1,863,250, in the August 17 week, down marginally from 1,863,500 the week before.
The insured unemployment rate, or the total number of beneficiaries as a percent of covered employment, remained at 1.2% in the August 17 week, where it has been continuously since the week ended March 11, 2023.
Economic conditions vary widely across individual states and territories, as shown by the insured unemployment rates. In the week ended August 10, the highest rates were in New Jersey (2.76%), Rhode Island (2.53%), California (2.18%), Puerto Rico (2.08%) and Minnesota (2.02%). The lowest rates were in South Dakota (0.27%), Kansas (0.40%), Florida (0.42%), Virginia and Kentucky (each 0.43%), and North Dakota (0.44%). Rates in other notable states include Pennsylvania (1.85%), New York (1.74%), Illinois (1.63%), Texas (1.15%) and Ohio (0.80%).
Data on weekly unemployment claims are from the Department of Labor itself, 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.
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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