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 >
unemployment
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 >
Initial jobless claims: 50 million and counting
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 >
June U.S. employment report: Encouragement, concern and outright skepticism
Total employment increased by an encouraging 4.8 million workers in June as the U.S. economy continues what will be a multiyear period of recovery in the American labor market. The major takeaway from the array of labor market data published Thursday morning is that despite the decline of 7.5 ... READ MORE >
U.S. jobs report: Will June data already be out of date by the time it’s published?
We expect an increase of 3.1 million in total employment, led by workers who have been called back to their jobs, and a decrease to 12.2% in the unemployment rate when the jobs data for June is released on Thursday. But those figures should be looked at with a skeptical eye. Pandemic economics is now ... 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 >