Widget Image
Follow PPD Social Media
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsEconomyWeekly Jobless Claims Fall Lower than Expected

Weekly Jobless Claims Fall Lower than Expected

People search for jobs on computers at the Verdugo Jobs Center, a partnership with the California Employment Development Department, in Glendale, California November 7, 2008. The U.S. unemployment rate shot to a 14-1/2 year high last month as employers slashed jobs by an unexpectedly steep 240,000, suggesting President-elect Barack Obama will face a deep recession when he takes office. (Photo: Reuters)
jobs-search-station-reuters

Job Search Station (Photo: Reuters)

The Labor Department reported Thursday weekly jobless claims fell by 1,000 to 261,000 for the week ending August 20, lower than the estimate for 265,000. The prior week was unchanged at 262,000.

No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending August 6 and a Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims. While the report marks 77 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1970, the eligible pool of applicants due to long-term unemployment is disproportionately low by comparison over the period.

The four-week moving average was 264,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 265,250.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending August 6 were in Puerto Rico (3.3), Connecticut (2.7), New Jersey (2.7), Alaska (2.6), Pennsylvania (2.4), California (2.2), West Virginia (2.2), Rhode Island (2.1), Massachusetts (2.0), and Wyoming (2.0).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 13 were in Oregon (+1,321), Kentucky (+521), Virginia (+490), Oklahoma (+367), and Idaho (+104), while the largest decreases were in California (-1,677), Pennsylvania (-1,472), Ohio (-1,285), Puerto Rico (-800), and Wisconsin (-728).

Written by

PPD Business, the economy-reporting arm of People's Pundit Daily, is "making sense of current events." We are a no-holds barred, news reporting pundit of, by, and for the people.

No comments

leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

People's Pundit Daily
You have %%pigeonMeterAvailable%% free %%pigeonCopyPage%% remaining this month. Get unlimited access and support reader-funded, independent data journalism.

Start a 14-day free trial now. Pay later!

Start Trial