Global| Sep 16 2010Unemployment Insurance Claims Move Modestly Lower
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell 3,000 last week to 450,000 from an upwardly revised 453,000 in the week prior (originally 451,000). Claims remained the lowest in nine weeks, just before Census-takers began wrapping up [...]
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell 3,000 last week to 450,000
from an upwardly revised 453,000 in the week prior (originally 451,000). Claims
remained the lowest in nine weeks, just before Census-takers began wrapping up
their work. The 4-week moving average fell slightly to 464,750. The latest
weekly decline contrasted with Consensus forecasts for a rise to 458,000. During
the last ten years there has been a 78% correlation between the level of initial
unemployment insurance claims and the m/m change in payroll employment.
Continuing claims for state-administered programs fell to 4.485M during the week of September 4 while the associated unemployment rate slipped to 3.5% from an upwardly revised 3.6%. These claimants are, however, only about half of the total number of people currently receiving unemployment insurance. Regular extended benefits, with eligibility dependent on conditions in individual states, fell sharply to 853,631 on August 28, the latest available figure. In July, the Congress renewed the special Emergency Unemployment Compensation program referred to as EUC 2008. By August 28, also the latest available for this program, it had 4.109 million beneficiaries. It will now accept claims through November 30 and will be continuing to pay out benefits until April 30, 2011.
Haver Analytics calculates a grand total of all claimants for unemployment insurance; this series includes extended and emergency programs as well as selective programs for railway employees, recently discharged veterans and federal employees. All together, on August 28th, the total number of recipients was 9.179 million, off 3.1% y/y and down from the early-January high of 11.989 million. These data are not seasonally adjusted.
Data on weekly unemployment insurance programs are contained in Haver's WEEKLY database and summarized monthly in USECON. Data for individual states, including the unemployment rates that determine individual state eligibility for the extended benefits programs and specific "tiers" of the emergency program, are in REGIONW, a database of weekly data for states and various regional divisions. Action Economics' Consensus forecasts for a collection of major economic indicators are contained in the AS1REPNA database.
| Unemployment Insurance (000s) | 09/11/10 | 09/04/10 | 08/28/10 | Y/Y | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Claims | 450 | 453 | 478 | -17.7% | 572 | 419 | 321 |
| Continuing Claims | -- | 4,485 | 4,569 | -26.6 | 5,809 | 3,340 | 2,549 |
| Insured Unemployment Rate(%) | -- | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.6(09/09) | 4.4 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
| Total Continuing Claims*(NSA) | -- | -- | 9.179M | -3.1% | 9.085M | 3.884M | 2.584M |
* Calculated by Haver Analytics, as the sum of regular state programs, extended benefits, federal employees, veterans, railroad retirement board and "EUC" 2008.
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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