Tag Archives: Labor Department

Superstorm Sandy blew a hole not in the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós labor market, but in economists├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó crystal balls as the economy added 146,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent--the lowest level since December 2008--the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Continuing to show the recovery from Superstorm Sandy, first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 25,000 to 370,000 for the week ended December 1, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 380,000 initial claims filings. The previous week├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós report was revised upward to 395,000 from the originally reported 393,000.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 23,000 to 393,000 for the week ending November 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 390,000 initial claims filings. First-time unemployment claims are gradually returning to pre-Sandy levels but remain elevated. In the four weeks prior to the storm that ravaged the East Coast, initial claims averaged about 369,000. Claims spiked to 451,000 in the week immediately following and have averaged 405,000 in the two weeks following.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 41,000 to 410,000 for the week ending November 17, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Economists expected 415,000 initial claims filings.

In the first full week after the storm, initial claims shot up 78,000 to 439,000--the highest level since April 2011--for the week ending November 10, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 376,000 initial claims filings.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 8,000 to 363,000 for the week ended November 3, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 370,000 initial claims filing. It was the third straight weekly decline and the fifth drop in the last seven weeks.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 9,000 to 363,000 for the week ended October 27, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It was the second straight weekly decline and the fourth drop in the last six weeks. The initial claims report has been unusually volatile for the last month, with wide swings in the seasonal adjustment factors used by the Labor Department to "normalize" the data. The seasonal adjustment for next week's report will be "unfavorable," bumping first-time claims higher.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 23,000 to 369,000 for the week ended October 20, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected initial claims to fall to 372,000. The initial claims report has been unusually volatile for the last month with wide swings in the seasonal adjustment factors used by the Labor Department to "normalize" the data. However, the factor used for this week's report was virtually the same as the factor used a week ago, suggesting the sharp drop in claims reflects a truer reading of the labor market.

First time claims for unemployment insurance shot up 46,000 to 388,000--the highest level since July--for the week ending October 13, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected initial claims to bounce back up to 365,000 after seasonal factors drove the number of claims down to the lowest level in 54 months. The weekly increase was the steepest since the end of January 2009, when claims soared 53,000 in one week. Since claims reports are usually revised upward the "final" claims total will likely end up as the highest since January.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell to 339,000├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┬Øthe lowest level since February 2008├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┬Øfor the week ended October 6, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The drop was far steeper than market expectations of 370,000 initial claims. In addition, the previous week's report of 367,000 initial claims was revised up to 369,000. The claims filings appeared to lend some credence to the report last week when the nation's unemployment rate had fallen to 7.8 percent, the lowest level since January 2009.