Kriss Sjoblom

In Washington 143,241 filed for unemployment insurance last week

This morning the state Employment Security Department reported that it received 143,241 new claims for unemployment insurance during the April 5-April 11 week. This is a decrease of 26,822 from the 170,063 claims filed during the preceding week. The four-week moving average of initial claims is 156,060, up from 123,789 for the preceding week. We […]

Nationwide, 5,245,000 filed for unemployment insurance last week

The U.S. Department of Labor issued its weekly report on initial claims for unemployment insurance this morning. Nationwide, the number of seasonally adjusted claims was 5,245,000 last week. This is 1,370,000 less than the (upwardly revised) number of claims for the previous week, 6,615,000. The 4-week moving average of seasonally adjusted claims was 5,508,500, up […]

State monthly employment report

The state Employment Security Department issued its Monthly Labor Report for March today. The period covered by this report (the pay period including March 12) was somewhat impacted by COVID-19. However, most of the pandemic’s impact on jobs came after this period, and hence the numbers reported today do not accurately reflect current labor market […]

State revenue update

The state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (ERFC) released its April report on state general fund revenue collections today. For the sales tax, the use tax, the business and occupation tax, the public utility tax, the tobacco products tax, and penalties and interest, this report covers payments received between March 11 and April 10, which […]

Seattle real estate market still hot for now

The Wall Street Journal has an article about the Seattle-area real estate market: Despite Stay-at-Home Order, Seattle’s Real-Estate Market Continues to Show Up Multiple offers. Bidding wars. All-cash deals hours after listings go live: This is all still happening in Seattle, the city that four weeks ago was considered an epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, […]

More on initial claims

Yesterday I posted a chart showing initial claims for unemployment insurance in Washington from March 1 to April 4 by individual sector as a percentage of sector employment. Here is an update to this chart that includes a bar for private employers overall: From March 1 to April 4, overall private sector claims were 14.9 […]

Initial claims by industry

I have updated three charts I posted previously showing initial claims for unemployment insurance by sector to include data for the week of March 29 to April 4. The first chart shows initial claims sector as a proportion of the sector’s employment in February: Accommodation and Food Services; Arts, Entertainment and Recreation; and Construction remain […]

In Washington 170,063 filed for unemployment insurance last week

This morning the state Employment Security Department reported that it received 170,063 new claims for unemployment insurance during the March 29-April 4 week. This is a decrease of 11,912 from the 181,975 claims filed during the preceding week. The four-week moving average of claims is 123,721, up from 82,842 for the preceding week. We estimate […]

Nationwide, 6,606,000 filed for unemployment insurance last week

The U.S. Department of Labor issued its weekly report on initial claims for unemployment insurance this morning. Nationwide, the number of seasonally adjusted claims was 6,606,000 last week. This is 261,000 less than the (upwardly revised) number of claims for the previous week, 6,867,000, which is the record. The 4-week moving average of seasonally adjusted […]

Initial claims by industry

I have updated three charts I posted last week on initial claims for unemployment insurance by industry to include data for the week of March 22 to March 28. The first shows initial claims industry as a proportion of the industry’s employment in February: Accommodation and Food Services, and Arts, Entertainment and Recreation remain the […]