Jobless Claims Rise 125k to 1.1M for Week Ending August 15

Insured Unemployment Rate Fell 0.4% for Week Ending August 8

Washington, D.C. (PPD) — The U.S. Labor Department (DOL) reported initial jobless claims rose 125,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 1,106,000 for the week ending August 15. The previous week was upwardly revised by 8,000 from 963,000 to 971,000.

Forecasts ranged from a low of 875,000 to a high of 1,000,000. The consensus forecast was 963,000. Last week marked the first week after five months since the start of the pandemic in which jobless claims fell below 1,000,000.

The 4-week moving average came in at 1,175,750, down 79,000. The previous week’s average was revised higher by just 2,000 from 1,252,750 to 1,254,750.

Lagging Jobless Claims Data

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate fell 0.4% to 10.2% for the week ending August 8. The previous week was unrevised.

The insured unemployment rate hit the first high of the current crisis at 8.2% for the week ending April 4. The all-time high prior to that was 7.0%, recorded in May of 1975. On April 11, it rose to 11.0% and 12.4% on April 25.

Under the Trump Administration, this rate had fallen to an all-time low 1.1% and remained at 1.2% just weeks ago, as recently as March 14. But that was before coronavirus (COVID-19) mitigation efforts.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment came in at 14,844,000, down 636,000. The previous week was revised down by 6,000 from 15,486,000 to 15,480,000.

The 4-week moving average was 15,841,250, a decline of 326,750. The previous week’s average was revised down by 1,500 from 16,169,500 to 16,168,000.

Extended Benefits were available in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and D.C. during the week ending August 1. The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for that same period fell 197,601.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending August 1 were in Nevada (24.2), Puerto Rico (21.7), Hawaii (19.9), California (17.0), Louisiana (15.9), New York (15.3), Connecticut (14.0), the Virgin Islands (13.8), Georgia (13.0), and Massachusetts (12.8).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 8 were in Nevada (+4,028), Puerto Rico (+3,601), Kansas (+2,248), Hawaii (+247), and South Dakota (+198), while the largest decreases were in New York (-21,366), California (-19,534), Florida (-16,702), Georgia (-11,596), and Virginia (-10,653).