Labor Market Shrugs Off Furloughed Government Workers
The Labor Department (DOL) said initial jobless claims fell to only 199,000 for the week ending January 19, easily beating the 218,000 consensus forecast.
This is the lowest level for initial claims since November 15, 1969 when it was 197,000.
The 4-week moving average was 215,000, a decrease of 5,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 250 from 220,750 to 220,500.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at a very low 1.2% for the week ending January 12.
No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending January 5.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending January 5 were in Alaska (3.5), New Jersey (2.8), Connecticut (2.7), Pennsylvania (2.6), Montana (2.5), Rhode Island (2.5), Illinois (2.3), Massachusetts (2.3), California (2.2), and Minnesota (2.2).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending January 12 were in California (+14,983), Texas (+7,588), Kentucky (+4,967), Florida (+2,770), and Virginia (+2,084), while the largest decreases were in New York (-23,398), Georgia (-4,655), Pennsylvania (-3,955), Connecticut (-3,086), and Alabama (-2,274).
