http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htmMarch 31, 2005 Note: This week's release reflects the annual revision to the weekly unemployment claims seasonal adjustment factors. The historical factors from 1999 forward have been revised. See attachment for calendar year 2005 factors.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending March 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 350,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 330,000. The 4-week moving average was 336,000, an increase of 8,500 from the previous week's revised average of 327,500.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent for the week ending March 19, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.1 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 19 was 2,608,000, a decrease of 66,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,674,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,656,250, a decrease of 14,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,671,000.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 290,073 in the week ending March 26, a decrease of 380 from the previous week. There were 296,776 initial claims in the comparable week in 2004.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent during the week ending March 19, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,926,383, a decrease of 164,357 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.7 percent and the volume was 3,385,174.
Extended benefits were available in Alaska during the week ending March 12.
IF ANYONE NEEDS A SAD LAUGH -CHECK OUT MAIN STREAM MEDIA'S REPORT OF A 30,000 INCREASE IN FIRST TIME CLAIMS (and note how they bury inflation year over year of 2.3 percent from February, 2004)
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aH79MJ1jPVOo&refer=news_indexU.S. Economy: Spending, Jobs Data Ease Inflation Talk (Update1)
March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Reports on consumer spending, incomes and jobless claims eased concern that the economy is overheating, tempering speculation that the Federal Reserve may need to accelerate interest-rate increases to thwart inflation.
Personal spending rose 0.5 percent in February while incomes rose a less-than-expected 0.3 percent, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The Labor Department said today the number of Americans seeking first-time jobless benefits jumped in the last weekly tally before tomorrow's monthly jobs report.
The spending report showed that inflation stayed within the Fed's predicted range, with prices excluding food and energy rising 1.6 percent in the 12 months through February.....First-time unemployment-benefit applications unexpectedly rose to 350,000 last week, the highest since the week that ended Jan. 8, from 330,000, the Labor Department said in a report that was skewed by a holiday. Treasury notes rose after the report.
``This is an unpleasant surprise, but it is almost certainly a reflection of the seasonal adjustment difficulties caused by the early Easter,'' said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics Ltd. in Valhalla, New York. <snip>
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ECONOMY?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=BUSINESS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULTAmericans' Incomes Rise Solidly
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans' incomes, bolstered by strong gains in hiring, rose by 0.3 percent in February while consumer spending climbed at an even faster pace of 0.5 percent, the government reported Thursday.
The Commerce Department said the gain in spending followed a much smaller 0.1 percent increase in January and reflected the fact that auto sales rebounded last month after having fallen in January.
The 0.3 percent rise in incomes was attributed to a surge of 262,000 new jobs in February, the biggest increase in four months. Further solid gains in both incomes and consumer spending are expected in the months ahead as the consumer continues to be a driving force in the economy.
In other economic news, the Commerce Department reported that orders to U.S. factories rose by 0.2 percent in February as strong demand for commercial aircraft, steel and computers offset a drop in demand for new cars and industrial machinery. The gain was weaker than the 0.5 percent increase that many economists had been expecting, but it still represented an improvement following no change at all in January orders.<snip>
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