Jobless Claims Unchanged for Week Ending November 16

The advance estimate for initial jobless claims came in at 227,000 for the week ending November 16, unchanged and higher than the consensus. The 4-week average came in at a seasonally adjusted 221,000.

Forecasts ranged from a low of 215,000 to a high of 221,000. The consensus forecast was 217,000.

Lagging Jobless Claims Data

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained unchanged at a very low 1.2% for the week ending November 9. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 9 was 1,695,000, up 3,000 from the previous week.

The 4-week moving average was 1,693,000, an increase of 3,000. The previous week’s average was revised up by 2,250 from 1,687,750 to 1,690,000.

No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending November 2.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending November 2 were in Alaska (2.3), Puerto Rico (2.1), New Jersey (1.9), California (1.7), Connecticut (1.6), Pennsylvania (1.5), the Virgin Islands (1.5), West Virginia (1.5), and Washington (1.4).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending November 9 were in California (+6,484), New Jersey (+5,197), New York (+2,721), Texas (+2,532), and Minnesota (+2,117), while the largest decreases were in Colorado (-794), Arkansas (-458), Montana (-188), Vermont (-27), and Arizona (-14).