The Department of Labor reports that jobless claims have become stagnant.
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.
Jobless claims have actually been under 400k since October 15h of 2011, but have not been lower than 352k over the same period. It seems that with every week of good or bad news in either direction, we bounce back within this frame.
Historically, that may not be so bizarre, but it is worrisome to see in a struggling nation that has employed multiple waves of quantitative easing and is still deeply in a recession.
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.
