Jobless Claims Fall 98k for Week Ending August 22, Insured Unemployment Falls to Single Digits

Highest Insured Unemployment Rates in Strict Lockdown States

Washington, D.C. (PPD) — The U.S. Labor Department (DOL) reported initial jobless claims fell 98,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 1,006,000 for the week ending August 15. The previous week was downwardly revised by 2,000 from 1,106,000 to 1,104,000.

Forecasts ranged from a low of 925,000 to a high of 1,100,000. The consensus forecast was 987,000.

The 4-week moving average came in at 1,068,000, down 107,250. The previous week’s average was revised down by 500 from 1,175,750 to 1,175,250.

Lagging Jobless Claims Data

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate fell back to single digits for the week ending August 15, 0.2% to 9.9%. The previous week was revised down by 0.1 from 10.2 to 10.1%.

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 during the week ending August 15 was 14,535,000, a decrease of 223,000. The previous week’s level was revised down by 86,000 from 14,844,000 to 14,758,000.

The 4-week moving average was 15,215,750, a decrease of 604,000. The previous week’s average was revised down by 21,500 from 15,841,250 to 15,819,750.

Extended Benefits were available in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and D.C. during the week ending August 8. The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for that same period fell 1,042,323 to 27,017,232.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending August 8 were in Hawaii (19.8), Puerto Rico (19.2), Nevada (17.3), California (16.1), New York (15.4), Connecticut (13.6), Louisiana (13.5), the Virgin Islands (12.8), Georgia (12.6), and Massachusetts (12.2).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 15 were in New Jersey (+11,580), Florida (+11,190), New York (+9,879), Texas (+9,096), and Tennessee (+3,793), while the largest decreases were in California (-12,155), Nevada (-6,817), Georgia (-4,236), Puerto Rico (-2,864), and Pennsylvania (-1,510).