ETA News Release: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (08/23/2012)
Source: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Admin
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending August 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 372,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 368,000. The 4-week moving average was 368,000, an increase of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average of 364,250.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending August 11, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 11, was 3,317,000, an increase of 4,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,313,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,311,500, an increase of 6,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,305,000.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 310,121 in the week ending August 18, a decrease of 7,320 from the previous week. There were 344,870 initial claims in the comparable week in 2011.
Read more: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/eta20121748.htm
Good morning, Freepers and DUers alike. It is time once again for the weekly unemployment insurance initial claims report, brought to you as a nonpartisan public service.
Up again this week, by 4,000.
I seriously do not care if the week's data make Obama look good, or Romney look good, or Chairman Mao look good, or anybody else. They are just numbers, and I post them without regard to the consequences.
You will also note that I welcome people from Free Republic to examine the numbers as well. They paid for the work just as much as members of DU did, so I invite them to come on over and have a look. "The more the merrier" is the way I look at it.
I do not work at the ETA, and I do not know anyone working in that agency. I'm sure I can safely assume that the numbers are gathered and analyzed by career civil servant economists who do their work on a nonpartisan basis. Numbers are numbers, and let the chips fall where they may. If you feel that these economists are falling down on the job, drop them a line or give them a call. They work for you, not for any politician or political party. Maybe they're all voting for Romney. That's up to them.
The word "initial" is important. The report does not count all claims, just the new ones filed this week.
Note: The seasonal adjustment factors used for the UI Weekly Claims data from 2007 forward, along with the resulting seasonally adjusted values for initial claims and continuing claims, have been revised. These revised historical values, as well as the seasonal adjustment factors that will be used through calendar year 2012, can be accessed at the bottom of the following link: http://www.oui.doleta.gov/press/2012/032912.asp
glacierbay
(2,477 posts)but this can't be good news for Pres. Obama. I lay the blame squarely on the R's for not passing the Pres.'s jobs bill which would put hundreds of thousands of americans back to work rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and lowering the unemployment rate.
Look for the Romney campaign to capitalize on this, but offer no viable solutions.