by Calculated Risk on 4/09/2009 08:30:00 AM
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Unemployment Insurance: Continued Claims at Record 5.84 Million
The DOL reports on weekly unemployment insurance claims:
In the week ending April 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 654,000, a decrease of 20,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 674,000. The 4-week moving average was 657,250, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 658,000.Click on graph for larger image in new window.
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The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 28 was 5,840,000, an increase of 95,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 5,745,000.
The first graph shows weekly claims and continued claims since 1971.
The four week moving average is at 657,250.
Continued claims are now at 5.84 million - the all time record.
The second graph shows the 4-week average of initial weekly unemployment claims (blue, right scale), and total insured unemployed (red, left scale), both as a percent of covered employment.
This normalizes the data for changes in insured employment, and shows the initial unemployment and continued claims are both at the highest level since the early '80s.
This is another very weak report and shows continued weakness for employment.