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Economy in Brief
U.S. Consumer Credit Continues to Decline
Cautious spending breeds less credit usage...
German Orders Plunge in April
Germany's orders plunged in April, falling by 25.8% m/m...
U.S. Trade Deficit Deepens; Exports & Imports Fall by Record Amounts in April
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened to $49.41 billion during April...
U.S. Productivity and Unit Labor Costs Revised Up for Q1'20
Output per hour revised up on weaker hours worked...
State & Pandemic Assistance Continuing Claims Total 32.5 Million
Initial jobless claims decreased to a still extremely-elevated 1.877 million in the week ending May 30...
Special Topics
by Tom Moeller August 18, 2005
Initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 6,000 to 316,000 last week and reversed a revised 5,000 decline the week earlier. Consensus expectations had been for 310,000 claims.
Despite the increase, initial claims in August are 1.6% below the July average, however, the latest figure covers the survey week for August nonfarm payrolls and is up 3.6% from the July period.
During the last ten years there has been a (negative) 75% correlation between the level of initial claims for unemployment insurance and the monthly change in payroll employment.
The four week moving average of initial claims rose to 312,750 (-7.2% y/y).
Continuing claims for unemployment insurance rose 28,000 following a deepened 16,000 decline one week earlier.
The insured unemployment rate remained at the four year low of 2.0% for the fifth consecutive week.
| Unemployment Insurance (000s) | 08/13/05 | 08/06/05 | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Claims | 316 | 310 | -5.1% | 343 | 402 | 404 |
| Continuing Claims | -- | 2,593 | -10.7% | 2,926 | 3,531 | 3,570 |
