Labor Market Remains Tight, Demand Solid
The Labor Department reported initial jobless claims for the week ending September 14 came in at a seasonally adjusted 208,000, beating the forecast. The 4-week moving average declined 750 to 212,250.
The forecasts ranged from a low of 203,000 to a high of 215,000. The consensus forecast was looking for a gain to 215,000.
In lagging data, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained very low at 1.2% for the week ending September 7. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for the week ending September 7 fell to 1,661,000, a decline of 13,000. The 4-week moving average came in at 1,677,500, a decline of 3,750.
The Labor Department said no state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending August 31.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending August 31 were in New Jersey (2.3), Puerto Rico (2.0), Connecticut (1.8), Pennsylvania (1.7), California (1.6), Alaska (1.5), Massachusetts (1.5), New York (1.4), Rhode Island (1.4), and the Virgin Islands (1.4).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending September 7 were in Arkansas (+668), Massachusetts (+230), Puerto Rico (+212), Minnesota (+197), and Washington (+116), while the largest decreases were in Illinois (-3,924), California (-3,587), New York (-3,547), Texas (-1,548), and Pennsylvania (-1,352).
