Unemployment Insurance Claims Fall More than Expected

The Labor Department reported unemployment insurance claims fell by 5,000 to 249,000 for the week ending October 1, lower than the estimate for 257,000. The firing rate for the prior week was unchanged at 254,000,

No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending September 17 and a Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims. The four-week moving average–which is widely considered a better gauge as it irons-out volatility–was 253,500, a decline of 2,500 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 256,000.

This marks 83 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1970, and the lowest level for the four-week average since December 8, 1973 when it was 252,250. However, as PPD repeatedly reports, long-term unemployment and a shrinking labor force have also contributed to the low, as the eligible pool of applicants has shrunk.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending September 17 were in Alaska (2.6), Puerto Rico (2.5), New Jersey (2.2), California (2.0), Connecticut (2.0), the Virgin Islands (1.9), Pennsylvania (1.8), West Virginia (1.8), Massachusetts (1.7), Illinois (1.6), Nevada (1.6), and Wyoming (1.6).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending September 24 were in Michigan (+2,156), Oregon (+454), Kentucky (+249), Maryland (+241), and Montana (+163), while the largest decreases were in New York (-1,902), Pennsylvania (-1,224), New Jersey (-910), Ohio (-752), and California (-744).