Recent Updates
- Euro area: CSPP Holdings Detail (Q1)
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Economy in Brief
U.S. Housing Affordability Fell Back in February, but Still in Recent Range
The NAR U.S. Fixed Rate Mortgage Housing Affordability Index decreased 7.6% (-1.4% y/y) in February to 173.1...
European New Car Registrations Remarkably Strong Yet Forgettable
Car registrations are not going to be the only statistic that bears these dual and seemingly dueling characteristics...
U.S. Retail Sales Soar in March
Total retail sales including food service and drinking establishments increased 9.8% (27.7% y/y) during March...
U.S. Industrial Production Rebounded in March
Industrial production rebounded in March, rising 1.4% m/m (+1.0% y/y)...
U.S. Home Builder Index Edges Higher in April
The NAHB-Wells Fargo Composite Housing Market Index rose 1.2% to 83 during April...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller October 29, 2015
Initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 1,000 during the week ended October 24 to 260,000. The prior week's level was unrevised. The figure remained near the November 1973 low. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 263,000 initial claims. The four week moving average declined to 259,250. During the last ten years, there has been a 75% correlation between the level of initial claims and the m/m change in nonfarm payrolls.
In the week ended October 17, continuing claims for unemployment insurance fell w/w to 2.144 million (-10.7% y/y) and remained near the November 2000 low. The four-week moving average eased to 2.185 million.
The insured rate of unemployment remained at 1.6%, equaling the lowest point since June 2000.
By state, the insured rate of unemployment continued to vary with South Dakota (0.24%), Nebraska (0.51%), New Hampshire (0.65%), North Carolina (0.68%), Virginia (0.71%) and Maine (0.74%) at the low end of the range. At the high end were Massachusetts (1.64%), California (1.96%), Connecticut (1.97%), Pennsylvania (2.04%), New Jersey (2.27%) and Alaska (2.73%). These data are not seasonally adjusted.
Data on weekly unemployment insurance are contained in Haver's WEEKLY database and they are summarized monthly in USECON. Data for individual states are in REGIONW. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics survey, carried in the AS1REPNA database.
Unemployment Insurance (000s) | 10/24/15 | 10/17/15 | 10/10/15 | Y/Y % | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Initial Claims | 260 | 259 | 256 | -9.6 | 307 | 342 | 372 |
Continuing Claims | -- | 2,144 | 2,181 | -10.7 | 2,607 | 2,978 | 3,308 |
Insured Unemployment Rate (%) | -- | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.8 (10/14) |
2.0 | 2.3 | 2.6 |