Jobless Claims Rise for Second Straight Week Post-Midterm Election

U.S. jobless claims graph on a tablet screen. (Photo: AdobeStock)

The Labor Department reported initial jobless claims for the week ending November 24 rose a seasonally adjusted 10,000 to 234,000, up from the unrevised level of 224,000. The 4-week moving average was 223,250, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 218,500.

That’s the second straight gain in the firing rate in two covered weeks after 2018 midterm election.

However, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at a very low 1.2% for the week ending November 17. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 17 was 1,710,000, an increase of 50,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

The previous week’s level was revised down by 8,000 from 1,668,000 to 1,660,000.

The 4-week moving average was 1,667,750, an increase of 19,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 1,750 from 1,649,750 to 1,648,000.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending November 10 were in Alaska (2.6), New Jersey (2.0), Puerto Rico (1.8), California (1.6), Connecticut (1.6), Pennsylvania (1.5), Virgin Islands (1.5), Montana (1.4), and Washington (1.4).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending November 17 were in Illinois (+2,026), Minnesota (+1,354), Wisconsin (+726), Missouri (+626), and Texas (+536), while the largest decreases were in California (-6,861), New Jersey (-2,347), New York (-1,680), Florida (-886), and Pennsylvania (-875).