Recent Updates
- Albania: HICP (Apr)
- South Africa: Wholesale Sales, Export & Import Indexes (Mar)
- Iceland: HICP (Apr)
- Sweden: Valueguard-KTH HOX House Prices (Apr), Capacity Utilization (Q3), Turnover Index (Mar)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Mortgage Applications Continued to Slide Amid Higher Rates
The biggest declines have been in refinancing activity, while applications for purchase are just starting to crack...
UK Inflation Jumps
Inflation is at the highest rate since the series began in January of 1989...
U.S. Industrial Production Much Stronger than Expected in April
The increase in manufacturing output in April was once again led by motor vehicle and parts production...
U.S. Retail Sales Posted Solid Rise in April
Notwithstanding falling real incomes and declining confidence measures, consumer spending posted a solid increase...
U.S. Home Builder Index Took a Steep Drop in May
This is the fifth straight month that builder sentiment has declined...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
Profits and Margins Plunge In Q1: Expect More Margin Contraction As Fed Squeezes Inflation
The Many Links of Inflation Cycle: Hard Landing Is Needed to Crack Them
Peak Inflation & Fed Policy: A Relationship Which Should Worry The Fed And Scare Investors
Why Have the Yields on TIPS Been Negative in the Past Two Years?
by Tom Moeller March 12, 2015
Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined to 289,000 during the week ended March 7 from 325,000 in the prior week, revised from 320,000. The latest level was the lowest in three weeks. The four-week moving average of initial claims fell to 302,250. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 303,000 claims in the latest week. During the last ten years, there has been a 76% correlation between the level of claims and the m/m change in nonfarm payrolls.
Continuing claims for unemployment insurance in the week ended February 28 fell to 2.418 million after the prior week's modest rise to 2.423 million. The four-week moving average rose to 2.417 million, the highest level in five weeks.
The insured rate of unemployment remained at 1.8% for the ninth straight week.
By state, in the week ended February 21 the insured rate of unemployment continued to vary greatly with South Dakota (0.92%), South Carolina (1.03%), Georgia (1.11%), Louisiana (1.13%), Tennessee (1.15%) and Mississippi (1.24%) at the low end of the range. At the high end were Michigan (2.57%), Maine (2.67%), California (2.95%), Massachusetts (3.45%), Connecticut (3.54%) and New Jersey (3.77%). 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) | 03/07/15 | 02/28/15 | 02/21/15 | Y/Y % | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Initial Claims | 289 | 325 | 313 | -9.4 | 309 | 343 | 374 |
Continuing Claims | -- | 2,418 | 2,423 | -15.2 | 2,599 | 2,978 | 3,319 |
Insured Unemployment Rate (%) | -- | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.2 (03/14) |
2.0 | 2.3 | 2.6 |