Global| Dec 11 2008U.S. Weekly Claims For Jobless Insurance Highest Since 1982
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Initial claims for unemployment insurance jumped last week. The 58,000 surge to 573,000 brought them to the highest level since November, 1982 when initial filings hit 612,000. This month claims are 8.9% higher than the November [...]
Initial claims for unemployment insurance jumped last week. The 58,000 surge to 573,000 brought them to the highest level since November, 1982 when initial filings hit 612,000. This month claims are 8.9% higher than the November average.
Expectations had been for claims last week of 523,000. The four-week moving average of initial claims rose to this cycle's high of 540,500 (59.1% y/y).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Nov. 29 were in Wisconsin (+16,331), Iowa (+6,240), Arkansas (+1,509), Mississippi (+1,398), and North Dakota (+1,391), while the largest decreases were in California (-20,304), Florida (-8,626), Missouri (-8,347), Michigan (-7,323), and Texas (-7,129).
Continuing claims for unemployment insurance during the week of November 29 surged by 338,000, also to the highest level since 1982. The four-week average of continuing claims rose to 4,133,500. Continuing claims provide some indication of workers' ability to find employment and they lag the initial claims figures by one week.
The insured rate of unemployment rose to a new cycle high of 3.3%. The Commerce Department indicated the highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending November 22 were in Puerto Rico (5.0 percent), Oregon (4.5), Michigan (4.3), Nevada (4.1), Idaho (3.9), Alaska (3.8), Pennsylvania (3.7), South Carolina (3.7), New Jersey (3.6), and Wisconsin (3.5).
| Unemployment Insurance (000s) | 12/06/08 | 11/29/08 | 11/22/08 | Y/Y | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Claims | 573 | 515 | 531 | 70.0% | 322 | 313 | 331 |
| Continuing Claims | -- | 4,429 | 4,091 | 67.6% | 2,552 | 2,459 | 2,662 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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