Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (05/26/2011)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending May 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 424,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 414,000. The 4-week moving average was 438,500, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average of 440,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent for the week ending May 14, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.0 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 14 was 3,690,000, a decrease of 46,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,736,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,742,250, an increase of 7,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,734,500.

Read more: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/eta20110766.htm

[fasttense]

1. About half a million a month that's 6 million a year.

But we only have 9+% unemployment. Yeah right, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell.

[pinqy]

2. People do get hired, you know

And waaaay more than half a million a month become unemployed From mid March to mid April there were 1,991,000 new UI claims, (http://www.ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/claims.asp">DOL) but 5,263,000 total became unemployed. And 5,751,000 people became employed...unemployment went down (http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_flows_current.pdf">BLS)

You can't just look at new UI claims and say anything about the Unemployment rate. Gross vs Net.