Initial claims rose by 4,000 in the September 19 week to a level of 870,000, below the 880,000 level expected and within the same narrow range for the last four weeks. The four-week moving average for initial claims fell by 32,250 to 878,250 in the current week, an eighth straight decline. The last week of […]
US business prices rose by 0.3% in August, as expected, reflecting gains in trade services and the core components, offset by declines in food and energy prices. Even with the monthly gains, the Federal Reserve’s shift away from inflation concerns remains well founded. Price levels have barely moved from a year ago. Food prices were […]
US Initial claims fell by 130,000 in the August 29 week to a level of 881,000, well below the 958,000 level expected and the lowest since the pandemic began, however, the decline needs to be taken with a grain of salt due to technical issues. The Labor Department shifted to an additive seasonal factor from […]
The future of the enhanced US jobless claims programme remains uncertain as talks between the Administration and Congress have gone silent, but new filings turned higher in the most recent week. At the same time, this week’s manufacturing conditions data have suggested a slower pace of expansion – and that’s in states where COVID cases […]
As the US Congress and the White House continue to spar – or currently refuse to spar – on the future of the enhanced jobless claims program, initial claims fell by 228,000 in the August 8 week to a level of 963,000. That level was well below expectations and the first reading below one million […]
As US Congress debates the fate of the extended jobless claims program, initial claims fell by 249,000 in the August 1 week to a level of 1.186 million, well below the 1.442 million level expected and the lowest weekly level since the start of COVID-19. The enhanced Federal unemployment payments of $600 per week ended […]
As Congress debates how to deal with the end of July deadline for the extended jobless claims program, another 1.416 million initial claims were filed in the July 18 employment survey week, up 109,000 from the level in the previous week, but down from the 1.482 million level in the June 20 employment survey week. […]
The pace of initial claims gains continues to astound, with COVID-19 cases surging in several states that are causing some restrictions to be put back into place. Initial filings fell further in the July 4 holiday week, but the weekly level of new claims remains well above one million more than three months after the […]
The US jobless claims data released earlier Thursday pointed to continued improvement for both new filings and existing filings, but the levels of both remain extremely high as even state reopenings have not been able to get displaced workers back on the job. Those levels stand as a marker as to how deep the COVID-related […]
The US data released on Thursday were a mixed bag, with data for May showing some signs of recovery, but April data reminding us of how far things slipped in the first month of the shutdown. The level of initial claims continued to slip in the May 16 employment survey week, putting it below the […]
