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- Initial claims for unemployment insurance[1] filed in the week ended April 5 dropped to their lowest level in years to 300,000. The last time the weekly number of claims filed hit around this level was in 2000. The Department of Labor noted in its report that “there were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims.” One might read that the drop may be due to just the regular volatility in the data. Still, it is hard to dispute that claims have been trending down and have normalized to levels prior to the Great Recession.
- The pace of job cuts is down. Now, let’s hope the pace of job creations accelerates. Today, only 58% of adult population is working compared to 62% to 64% prior to the recession.
- The largest decreases in initial claims for the week ending March 29 were in Pennsylvania (-2,007), Texas (-1,821), Missouri (-889), and New Jersey (-774). However, claims rose in California (+17,626), Oregon (+1,851), Ohio (+1,200), Kentucky (+1,119), and Illinois (+941).
- What this Means for REALTORS®: Fewer claims filed means fewer workers lost their jobs during the week and indicates greater job stability.
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