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Economy in Brief
U.S. Financial Accounts Show Moderate Borrowing, Average Ratio to GDP
rowing in U.S. financial markets slowed in Q2 2018, according to the Federal Reserve's Financial Accounts data...
U.S. Small Business Optimism Diminishes
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index declined to 104.8 during November...
U.S. Gasoline Prices Fall; Crude Oil Costs Rise
Gasoline prices declined to an average $2.42 per gallon (-2.6% y/y)...
U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings and Hires Rates Improve
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate improved to 4.5% during October...
OECD LEIs Point to Weakness
OECD LEIs point to weakness ahead for the OECD area as well as separately for the OECD seven largest economies, the euro area, and the U.S....
by Tom Moeller April 14, 2005
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell last week by 10,000 to 330,000 versus an upwardly revised level the prior week. Consensus expectations had been for 330,000 claims.
During the last ten years there has been a (negative) 74% correlation between the level of initial claims for unemployment insurance and the monthly change in payroll employment. There has been a (negative) 66% correlation with the level of continuing claims.
The four week moving average of initial claims rose very slightly to 338,000 (-1.7% y/y).
Continuing claims for unemployment insurance fell 22,000 following the 88,000 rise the prior week that was little revised.
The insured unemployment rate remained at 2.1%.
| Unemployment Insurance (000s) | 04/09/05 | 04/02/05 | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Claims | 330 | 340 | -7.6% | 343 | 402 | 404 |
| Continuing Claims | -- | 2,664 | -10.9% | 2,926 | 3,531 | 3,570 |
