Recent Updates
- New Zealand: Food Price Index, PMI, Main Benefits (Jul)
- New Zealand: Jobseeker Support by Territorial Authority (Jul)
- Korea: Import & Export Price Indexes Press (Jul)
- US: Business Formation Statistics, Producer Prices (Jul)
- US: Business Formation Statistics by State (Jul)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Unemployment Claims Continue on an Uptrend
Initial claims for unemployment insurance filed in the week ended August 6 rose 14,000 to 262,000...
RICS Survey Points to More U.K. Housing Sector Weakness
The survey of housing market conditions in the U.K. continues to show strength in prices versus weakness...
U.S. CPI Unchanged in July with Drop in Energy Prices
Consumer prices were unchanged in July after an outsized 1.3% m/m jump in June...
U.S. Federal Government Budget Deficit Shrinks in July
The U.S. Treasury Department reported a federal budget deficit of $211.1 billion in July...
U.S. Mortgage Applications Rose Slightly in the Latest Week
Mortgage applications increased 0.2% (-62.9% y/y) from one week earlier...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller August 16, 2007
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose again last week. This third increase in as many weeks was to 322,000 from an unrevised 316,000 during the opening week of the month. The increase exceeded Consensus expectations for 315,000 claims in the latest week.
A claims level below 400,000 typically has been associated with growth in nonfarm payrolls. During the last ten years there has been a (negative) 78% correlation between the level of initial claims and the m/m change in nonfarm payroll employment.
The four-week moving average of initial claims rose to 312,500 (-0.2% y/y), its highest level in one month.
Continuing claims for unemployment insurance rose 17,000 after a downwardly revised 16,000 increase during the prior week. The continuing claims numbers lag the initial claims figures by one week.
The insured rate of unemployment remained at 1.9%.
Family Caregiver: Balancing Home and Work from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is available here.
Unemployment Insurance (000s) | 08/11/07 | 08/04/07 | Y/Y | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Initial Claims | 322 | 316 | 1.9% | 313 | 331 | 343 |
Continuing Claims | -- | 2,567 | 3.1% | 2,545 | 3.3% | 2,459 |