Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (11/17/2011)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending November 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 388,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 393,000. The 4-week moving average was 396,750, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average of 400,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent for the week ending November 5, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 5 was 3,608,000, a decrease of 57,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,665,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,670,000, a decrease of 32,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,702,750.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 360,139 in the week ending November 12, a decrease of 42,355 from the previous week. There were 409,548 initial claims in the comparable week in 2010.

Read more: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/eta20111647.htm

---

Good morning, Freepers and DUers alike. It is time once again for the weekly unemployment insurance claims report.

Here for your viewing pleasure are this week's data, brought to you as a nonpartisan public service. This is just one example of the good work your civil servants are performing for you.

Claims are down again, to 388,000 this week.

[AnneD]

1. More kicked off....

the rolls I see. At this rate we will be back to 5% in no time. One in every two Americans will be out of work but hey look at the low employment rate. :sarcasm:

[pinqy]

4. And how does fewer first time claims mean people "kicked off the rolls?"

Is "initial" a strange word for you?

And the unemployment rate has nothing at all to do with Unemployment Insurance. Only about half of the unemployed are receiving benefits. Read the damned release....as of October 29, there were approx 6,773,326 receiving benefits from either fed or state programs. But Unemployment, as used in the unemployment rate, is close to 14 million.

[AnneD]

8. I am not getting into that argument...

as there are several ways that people can look at unemployment. I base mine on my personal experience. When I look at unemployment, I look at the number of those drawing unemployment. When your benefits run out you are dropped from the list of the unemployed, whether you have a job or not. You become statistically invisible.

When I became statistically invisible, was I employed...hell no. Had I stopped looking...hell no.

The long and short of it is that every administration jacks with the numbers to put on a happy face and to keep the people calm. The sooner one realizes that they are blowing smoke up you butt, the sooner one can get an accurate idea of where one stands and make better decisions.

[pinqy]

9. Wrong

When your benefits run out you are dropped from the list of the unemployed, whether you have a job or not. You become statistically invisible.

is absolutely untrue. The UE rate does not come from a "list of the unemployed," it's a statistical survey and doesn't even ask about unemployment benefits. You were not statistically invisible, you were included.

[SmittynMo]

2. It's all BS

These numbers reflect the number of UE check produced. Thousands of people fall off of the list weekly, as they have exhausted their benefits, or are ineligible in some other way. It does not reflect the true number of the actual unemployed. I have been told the actual number is somewhere between 16-25%. So don't be fooled by the numbers. I don't even know why we report it. My guess is so that politicians can say "See, the numbers are going up, or down". If they go down, it is perceived that their policies,etc, are working. It's all BS.

[pinqy]

3. What part of "Initial claims" is unclear to you?

The report is the number of people filing to start their claims....so falling off the list has nothing to do with it as we're not talking about people who were on the list in the first place.

And don't confuse this report with the Unemployment rate, which is NOT based on UI claims at all.

[SmittynMo]

5. My oversight

Sorry. I'm just sick and tired of people reporting the UI percentages, when they aren't even close.

[pinqy]

6. Except no one reports the UI percentages

Currently it's 2.9%, but no one reports it. It's buried in the the Intitial UI claims release. It is 2.9% and that's the percent of people covered by UI who are recieving it.

As I said, do NOT confuse Unemployment Insurance with the Unemployment Rate. The UE rate is total unemployed (NOT just those receiving benefits) as a percent of the labor force and it's currently at 9.0%. No it does not include part-timers who want full time work, but it would be stupid to count people with jobs as UNemployed. No, it does not count people not trying to work as unemployed because they have zero effect on the labor market.

Sorry, I'm sick and tired of people who haven't done the research making claims about the numbers. I don't mean to be too harsh, but please actually read about this stuff first: Current Population Survey FAQ

[dmallind]

7. Nobody reports UI numbers except buried in nerd detail. U3 is not UI either

The one you hear all the time is U3. To be included you need only answer "No" to the question "Do you have a job" and "Yes" to the question "Did you look for work in the last 4 weeks?". What you seem to want this to be close to - the 16% you mention - is the U6. It's based on the same survey as the U3 but also includes people who have not looked for work (can't imagine why you would stop if you want work but hey), people who work part time but want to work full time, and the "marginally attached" who looked in the last year but not last 4 weeks, including those who went back to school.

NO "U-X" rate has anything, at all, in any way, to do with application for, eligibility for, receipt of or expiration of benefits. Not asked about benefits in the survey, not compiled by the same department, not supposed to measure the same thing.