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Economy in Brief
U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Post Another Strong Increase
The MBA total Mortgage Applications Index rose 1.6% (-13.2% y/y) during the week ended December 7...
EMU-Area IP Is Slowing But Still Growing; IP Makes Modest Rebound
EMU IP gained 0.2% in October after a 0.6% decrease...
U.S. Producer Prices Edge Higher
The headline Final Demand Producer Price Index using new methodology ticked 0.1% higher (2.5 % y/y) during November...
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...
by Tom Moeller December 22, 2005
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell 13,000 to 318,000 last week following an upwardly revised 3,000 increase the prior week. Consensus expectations had been for 325,000 claims.
The latest figure covers the survey period for December nonfarm payrolls and claims were up 13,000 (4.3%) from the November period. During the last ten year there has been a (negative) 75% correlation between the level of initial jobless insurance claims and the m/m change in payroll employment.
The four-week moving average of initial claims fell to 324,500 (-3.5% y/y).
Continuing unemployment insurance claims rose 41,000 following a lessened 12,000 gain the prior week.
The insured rate of unemployment ticked up to 2.1% following two weeks at 2.0%.
| Unemployment Insurance (000s) | 12/17/05 | 12/10/05 | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Claims | 318 | 331 | -3.3% | 343 | 402 | 404 |
| Continuing Claims | -- | 2,638 | -3.0% | 2,926 | 3,531 | 3,570 |
