South By North Strategies, Ltd.

NC Unemployment Claims: Week of 2/26

For the benefit week ending on February 26th, 12,507 North Carolinians filed initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits, and 126,888  individuals applied for state-funded continuing benefits. Compared to the prior week, there were fewer initial and continuing claims. These figures come from data released by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Averaging new and continuing claims over a four-week period — a process that helps adjust for seasonal fluctuations and better illustrates trends — shows that an average of  12,762 initial claims were filed over the previous four weeks, along with an average of 131,225 continuing claims. Compared to the previous four-week period, there were fewer initial and continuing claims.

One year ago, the four-week average for initial claims stood at 19,142 and the four-week average of continuing claims equaled 208,037.

While the number of claims has dropped over the past year so has covered employment. Last week, covered employment totaled 3.7 million, down from 3.9 million a year ago.

The graph (right) shows the changes in unemployment insurance claims (as a share of covered employment) in North Carolina since the recession’s start in December 2007.

Both new and continuing claims appear to have peaked for this cycle, and the four-week averages of new and continuing claims have fallen considerably. Yet continuing claims remain at an elevated level, which suggests that unemployed individuals are finding it difficult to find new positions.

Economic Divergence

The PBS NewsHour reports on the diverging economic fortunes of two Ohio counties, which are representative of the larger changes that have occurred to the American economy over the last 30 years.

Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.

Around The Dial – March 16

Economic policy reports, blog postings, and media stories of interest:

• The Washington Post reports on the latest budget deal.
• The NY Times notes that 40% of recent student loan borrowers are delinquent.
• Naked Capitalism is unimpressed by the latest mortgage relief proposal.
• Calculated Risk looks at the latest data on housing starts.
• Ezra Klein comes to bury former Sen. Evan Bayh.
• Fed Watch comments on the Federal Reserve’s latest statement.

The Path To Insolvency

A policy brief from the N.C. Budget & Tax Center explains how shortsighted tax policy choices set the stage for the solvency problems afflicting the state’s unemployment insurance system.

The current situation is one that has taken more than a decade for North Carolina to get in and will require time to resolve. But state leaders need to address it, as the unemployment insurance system plays a critical role in smoothing the ups and downs of the business cycle and maintaining the spending that supports economic recovery. Policymakers must put together a solvency plan that rectifies the tax changes made in the 1990s and ensures that all employers are contributing to this critical program that supports families, business and communities in tough times.

Mapping Income Inequality

An interactive map on the Web site of The Atlantic Monthly allows users to see regional changes in median incomes over the last 30 years. According to the map, there exist 12 distinct regional patterns.