Initial Claims Slow, But Maintain Post-Pandemic Low
Sometime very soon, initial claims for unemployment insurance are going to fall below 256,000—the figure from March 2020, just before the full effects of the coronavirus pandemic blindsided the U.S. economy. It’s just not happening this week.
The Labor Department on Thursday reported for the week ending November 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims fell 268,000, a decrease of just 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level. However, the number continued a seven-week streak in which initial claims reached a post-pandemic low and edged closer to the March 2020 figure. The previous week’s level revised up by 2,000, from 267,000 to 269,000. The four-week moving average fell to 272,750, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week’s revised average to its lowest level since March 14, 2020, when it was 225,500.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate fell to 1.5 percent for the week ending November 6, 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 6 fell to 2,080,000, a decrease of 129,000 from the previous week’s to its lowest level for insured unemployment since March 14, 2020, when it was 1,770,000. The previous week’s level revised up 49,000 from 2,160,000 to 2,209,000. The four-week moving average fell to 2,157,250, a decrease of 100,000 from the previous week’s revised average to its lowest level since March 21, 2020, when it was 2,071,750. The previous week’s average revised up by 12,250 from 2,245,000 to 2,257,250.
The report said the advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 238,850 in the week ending November 13, a decrease of 18,183 (7.1 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 17,068 (6.6 percent) from the previous week. Labor reported 709,426 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020. In addition, for the week ending November 13, 36 states reported 1,387 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate fell to 1.3 percent during the week ending November 6, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,754,190, a decrease of 198,717 (10.2 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 70,053 (3.6 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 4.1 percent and the volume was 6,061,961.
The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending October 30 was 3,184,657, an increase of 618,804 from the previous week. Labor reported 20,815,977 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2020.
