Initial Claims Rise Over Holiday
Initial claims for unemployment insurance climbed back up last week after falling to pre-pandemic levels the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
For the week ending November 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims rose to 222,000, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average fell to 238,750, a decrease of 12,250 from the previous week to its lowest level since March 14, 2020, when it was 225,500.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate fell to 1.4 percent for the week ending November 20, 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 November 20 fell to 1,956,000, a decrease of 107,000 from the previous week to its lowest level since March 14, 2020, when it was 1,770,000. The four–week moving average fell to 2,084,250, a decrease of 36,250 from the previous week to its lowest level since March 21, 2020, when it was 2,071,750.
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 211,896 in the week ending November 27, a decrease of 41,622 (16.4 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 69,304 (27.3 percent) from the previous week. Labor reported 711,416 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020. In addition, for the week ending November 27, 31 states reported 1,406 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate fell to 1.2 percent during the week ending November 20, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,563,000, a decrease of 265,775 (14.5 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 157,942 (8.6 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 3.6 percent and the volume was 5,233,689.
The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending November 13 rose to 2,306,353, an increase of 21,564 from the previous week. Labor reported 20,756,040 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2020.
On Wednesday, ADP, Roseland, N.J., said private-sector employment rose by 534,000 new jobs in November.
This morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issues its November Employment report. Mike Fratantoni, Chief Economist with the Mortgage Bankers Association, will provide commentary and analysis in the Monday, Dec. 6 edition of MBA NewsLink.
