While the August U.S. employment report likely provided little impetus inside Washington to arrive at a compromise on another round of fiscal aid, the initial jobless claims report for the week ending Sept. 5 provided a stark contrast on domestic employment dynamics. With permanent job losses ... READ MORE >
initial jobless claims
Methodological changes to jobless claims data are behind their slower pace
First-time jobless claims declined to a seasonally adjusted rate of 881,000 for the week ending Aug. 29, with non-seasonally adjusted claims falling to 833,000 as the Department of Labor introduced a new way to estimate the pace of firings in the domestic labor market. At the same time, the federal ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims: Potential inflection point
Initial jobless claims for the month of July point to a potential inflection point in the American labor market. July's data perfectly captured the flattening out of consumer demand and slowing of overall growth in the economy as the pandemic intensified, all of which resulted in rising ... READ MORE >
Three states report significant increases in initial jobless claims
The grim news from the national increase in initial jobless claims, which are adjusted for seasonal effects, was mitigated somewhat by the state-by-state raw counting of first-time filings for unemployment benefits. Only Virginia, Indiana and Nevada reported weekly increases in initial jobless ... READ MORE >
First-time jobless claims rise for second straight week
The U.S. economy has moved sideways for the past six weeks and it appears that improvement in the labor market has begun to stall as initial claims for unemployment benefits increased for the second straight week. First-time jobless claims increased by 1.434 million for the week ending July 25, the ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims, by state: Texas passes 3 million
Texas became the fifth state to have processed 3 million initial filings for unemployment benefits since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and the shutdown of local economies on March 7. Of the four other states (California, Florida, Georgia and New York), only New York has escaped the latest ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims: Slowing economy pushes claims higher
A series of alternative and near real-time data show that the economy began to slow on or around June 24. First-time jobless claims, which increased by 1.416 million for the week ending July 18, affirm the evolution of that data and point to risks around a slower pace of workers being recalled to their ... READ MORE >
Jobless claims, state by state: 19 show significant increases
The spread of the coronavirus across the South and Southwest and into the Plains became apparent in states with statistically significant increases in initial jobless claims during the week ending July 11. It is difficult to assess trends in weekly jobless claims because of the scattershot nature ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims: 17 straight weeks above 1 million
Initial jobless claims remain stubbornly elevated, which implies persistent weakness in the domestic labor market as the economy absorbs further intensification of the coronavirus pandemic. This may cause further volatility in these numbers in the coming weeks. First-time jobless claims for the ... READ MORE >
Cumulative jobless claims pass 6 million in California and 3 million in Florida
In a week that the cumulative number of people registering for unemployment benefits passed 50 million, California has now processed more than 6 million initial claims and Florida passed the 3 million mark. Notable this week was the dispersion of states with significant increases in initial claims, ... READ MORE >