Not trying to be a fear monger here, I’m really trying to keep the positive of life in mind, but I do have to point out that Continued Unemployment Claims have hit a record high.
In the week ending May 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 631,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 643,000. The 4-week moving average was 628,500, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 632,000.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 5.0 percent for the week ending May 9, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 4.9 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployme;nt during the week ending May 9 was 6,662,000, an increase of 75,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 6,587,000. The 4-week moving average was 6,480,500, an increase of 131,000 from the preceding week’s revised average of 6,349,500.
The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.071 million.
One must keep in mind that unemployment is a lagging indicator, but an initial claim of 631,000 is still significant. The record high of 6.66 million shows just how bad things have been in terms of employment in the U.S. during this recession.
Remember, as the automotive industry continues to “right size” one can reasonably expect the employment number to be negatively impacted.
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