Economy

Initial claims by sector

Here are four charts presentinginitial claims for unemployment insurance reported by Washington state’s Employment Security Department (ESD) by sector for the period from March 1 to June 6. A note of caution about initial claims numbers: In May, Washington’s unemployment insurance system was hit by a rash of fraudulent claims (press release here). As a […]

In Washington 49,477 filed initial claims for unemployment insurance last week

This morning the state Employment Security Department (ESD) gave its weekly report on unemployment insurance claims. A note of caution about initial claims numbers: In May, Washington’s unemployment insurance system was hit by a rash of fraudulent claims (press release here). As a result, the weekly unemployment insurance claims data released by ESD have overstated […]

Nationwide, 1,542,000 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 1,542,000 last week. This is 355,000 less than the (upwardly revised) number of claims for the previous week, 1,897,000. The 4-week moving average of seasonally adjusted claims was 2,002,000, down […]

Recapping last week: Jobs, UI claims, federal action

National employment increased by 2.5 million in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. With that gain, the national unemployment rate dropped to 13.3 percent (from 14.7 percent in April). The increase in jobs was unexpected—many economists were estimating further declines. Although this is a positive sign, 13.3 percent unemployment is still […]

Ugly trade data for March and April show impact of downturn

One of the negative indicators in this week’s economic forecast from the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council is exports: Washington exports declined over the year for a sixth consecutive quarter. Year-over-year exports decreased 35.1% in the first quarter of 2020. The large decline was mostly because of transportation equipment exports (mostly Boeing planes) which fell […]

Initial claims by sector

Here are four charts presenting initial claims for unemployment insurance reported by Washington state’s Employment Security Department (ESD) by sector for the period from March 1 to May 30. A note of caution about these numbers: In recent weeks, Washington’s unemployment insurance system has been hit by a rash of fraudulent claims (press releases here […]

In Washington 54,278 filed initial claims for unemployment insurance last week

This morning the state Employment Security Department (ESD) gave its weekly report on unemployment insurance claims. A note of caution about these numbers: In recent weeks, Washington’s unemployment insurance system has been hit by a rash of fraudulent claims (press releases here and here). As a result, the unemployment insurance claims data released weekly by […]

Congress approves changes to paycheck protection program

Last night the U.S. Senate approved H.R. 7010. The bill was passed by the House last week. If signed by the president, it will make the paycheck protection program more flexible. For the loans to be forgiven, businesses will have 24 weeks to spend loan funds (instead of eight); 60 percent (instead of 75 percent) […]

Nationwide, 1,877,000 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 1,877,000 last week. This is 249,000 less than the (upwardly revised) number of claims for the previous week, 2,126,000. The 4-week moving average of seasonally adjusted claims was 2,284,000, up […]

Economic and Revenue Forecast Council issues preliminary economic forecast

The state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council presented the preliminary version of its June economic forecast of the state economy today. A revised version of this economic forecast will form the basis for the ERFC’s June forecast of state revenues, which will be released on June 17. ERFC Executive Director and Chief Economist Steve Lerch […]