Recent Updates
- US: Employment Situation (Feb), Intl Trade (Jan)
- US: Establishment Survey Detail (Feb)
- US: Household Survey Detail (Feb)
- Canada: International Trade (Jan), Ivey PMI (Feb)
- Serbia: PPI (Feb)
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Economy in Brief
U.S. Consumer Credit Outstanding Declines in January
Consumers reduced credit balances further in January...
U.S. Trade Deficit Widens to $68.2 Billion in January
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened to $68.2 billion in January...
German Order Growth Gets Back in Gear Despite the Headwinds
German order growth is back in gear with total orders rising by 1.4% m/m in January...
U.S. Factory Orders & Shipments Rise Again in January
Manufacturing activity is strengthening. Factory orders rose 2.6% (2.8% y/y) in January...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Rise Just 9,000
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose modestly by 9,000 to 745,000 in the week ended February 27...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
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 |