Research >> Economics
Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims decrease 8,000 to 198,000
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In the week ending December 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 198,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 205,000 to 206,000. The 4-week moving average was 199,250, a decrease of 7,250 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since October 25, 1969 when it was 199,250. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 206,250 to 206,500.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3 percent for the week ending December 18, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 18 was 1,716,000, a decrease of 140,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for insured unemployment since March 7, 2020 when it was 1,715,000. The previous week's level was revised down by 3,000 from 1,859,000 to 1,856,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,859,500, a decrease of 59,500 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 1,730,750. The previous week's average was revised down by 750 from 1,919,750 to 1,919,000.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 256,146 in the week ending December 25, an increase of 1,125 (or 0.4 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 8,822 (or 3.5 percent) from the previous week. There were 823,788 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020. In addition, for the week ending December 25, 31 states reported 897 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent during the week ending December 18, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,636,508, a decrease of 191,107 (or -10.5 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 50,893 (or -2.8 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 3.6 percent and the volume was 5,225,796.
The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending December 11 was 2,177,355, an increase of 39,363 from the previous week. There were 20,492,081 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2020.
During the week ending December 11, Extended Benefits were available in the following 4 states: Alaska, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New Mexico.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 695 in the week ending December 18, a decrease of 274 from the prior week. There were 367 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 47 from the preceding week.
There were 9,465 continued weeks claimed filed by former Federal civilian employees the week ending December 11, a decrease of 359 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 4,764, an increase of 46 from the prior week.
During the week ending December 11, 43 states reported 137,421 continued weekly claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits and 40 states reported 117,721 continued claims for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending December 11 were in Alaska (3.1), California (2.7), Puerto Rico (2.7), the Virgin Islands (2.5), New Jersey (2.4), Illinois (2.3), Minnesota (2.3), Hawaii (2.0), Massachusetts (1.8), and Nevada (1.8).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending December 18 were in Oklahoma (+947), Michigan (+841), Washington (+803), Alabama (+732), and Arkansas (+731), while the largest decreases were in Missouri (-5,549), Pennsylvania (-4,520), Kentucky (-1,915), Georgia (-1,699), and Illinois (-1,321).
Posted: December 30, 2021 Thursday 08:30 AM