Roughly 50 million Americans have filed first-time jobless claims over the past four months, while for the week ending July 4, an additional 1.31 million filed for unemployment insurance. Compared to pre-pandemic employment levels, approximately 30% of the workforce has experienced a bout of ... READ MORE >
initial jobless claims
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rise in 25 states
There were increases in the number of newly filed claims for unemployment benefits in 25 states during the week ending June 27. Thirteen of those states reported increases that were significantly above normal levels. We should also note that 10 states reported significant decreases in newly filed ... READ MORE >
Nine states report significant increases in jobless claims
Nine states reported significant increases in first-time claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending June 20 -- a sobering reminder of the ongoing economic toll of the coronavirus. Nationally, there were an additional 1.5 million people who woke up without a job during the week of June 20, which ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims: Why the wait for further aid?
In the war film “Tora! Tora! Tora!” U.S. Navy Captain John Earle refused to act in defense of Pearl Harbor until he received confirmation of an attack even as American naval assets exploded all around him. As such, some important policymakers appear to be waiting on confirmation that the U.S. ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims are still six times higher than normal
We can add another 1.5 million Americans to the ranks of the newly unemployed. Initial jobless claims for the week ending June 13 are six times higher than the five-year average of 240,000 prior to the coronavirus pandemic. And in the 13 weeks since the shutdown of the economy, state employment agencies ... READ MORE >
Weekly initial jobless claims: Much-needed context as claims rise by 1.5 million
While the pace of first-time jobless claims has declined over the past few weeks, such an improvement is still akin to saying someone has turned down the heat in hell. It is clear that the U.S. labor market remains impaired as first-time jobless claims increased by 1.5 million for the week ending June 13, ... READ MORE >
Jobless claims, state by state: Even with overall drop, nine states have big increases
Despite the overall drop in initial jobless claims in the latest week to 1.5 million, there were still nine states that reported significant increases in first-time applications for unemployment benefits. Yet 12 states reported significant decreases, which leaves a majority of states reporting ... READ MORE >
Weekly initial jobless claims: More questions than answers
It would be a mistake for policymakers or investors to discount the weekly jobless claims data released on Thursday in light of the recall of 2.7 million people to work in the May U.S. employment report. Over the past 12 weeks, 44.1 million people have filed for unemployment insurance, which is roughly ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims fall in most states, but the damage has been done
Almost every state had a decline in initial jobless claims in the last week of May, as a ninth week was added to the trend of decreasing yet still substantial household economic misery. California and Florida were the only two states reporting significant increases in first-time filings for ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims: Some good news amid continued carnage
The pace of first-time jobless claims declined for the ninth consecutive week, to 1.83 million, bringing the cumulative total of those who have lost jobs over the past 11 weeks to 42.6 million. In the era of pandemic economics, this is what constitutes good news. To put that in perspective, there are ... READ MORE >