This Morning’s Key Economic Data - Weekly Jobless Claims (wk ended November 7, 2009)
November 19, 2009 – This Morning’s Key Economic Data – Weekly jobless came in as expected this morning at 505,000. In terms of surprises in the report, there really weren’t any, though Michigan continues to hemorrhage. Excerpt from press release: UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATAIn the week ending Nov. 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 505,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised figure of 505,000. The 4-week moving average was 514,000, a decrease of 6,500 from the previous week's revised average of 520,500.The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.3 percent for the week ending Nov. 7, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.3 percent.The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Nov. 7 was 5,611,000, a decrease of 39,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 5,650,000. The 4-week moving average was 5,711,500, a decrease of 83,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 5,795,000. The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.992 million. UNADJUSTED DATAThe advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 479,295 in the week ending Nov. 14, a decrease of 53,132 from the previous week. There were 513,000 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008. The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.7 percent during the week ending Nov. 7, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 4,881,874, a decrease of 79,243 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.6 percent and the volume was 3,521,971.Extended benefits were available in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin during the week ending Oct. 31. Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 2,331 in the week ending Nov. 7, a decrease of 62 from the prior week. There were 2,480 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 199 from the preceding week. There were 24,799 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Oct. 31, an increase of 2,273 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 34,919, an increase of 699 from the prior week. States reported 3,622,091 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Oct. 31, an increase of 101,838 from the prior week. There were 772,645 claimants in the comparable week in 2008. EUC weekly claims include both first and second tier activity. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Oct. 31 were in Puerto Rico (6.1 percent), Oregon (5.5), Nevada (5.2), Alaska (5.0), California (5.0), Arkansas (4.9), Wisconsin (4.9), Michigan (4.8), Pennsylvania (4.8), and Washington (4.7). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Nov. 7 were in Michigan (+6,001), New Jersey (+4,153), Pennsylvania (+3,552), New York (+3,508), and Ohio (+3,292), while the largest decreases were in Florida (-1,915), Arkansas (-734), Oregon (-274), South Carolina (-116), and West Virginia (-19).
