Unemployment Claims: Week of 1/15
For the benefit week ending on January 15th, 24,837 North Carolinians filed initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits, and 149,113 individuals applied for state-funded continuing benefits. Compared to the prior week, there were more 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 24,151 initial claims were filed over the previous four weeks, along with an average of 147,191 continuing claims. Compared to the previous four-week period, there were more initial and continuing claims.
One year ago, the four-week average for initial claims stood at 30,020 and the four-week average of continuing claims equaled 217,879.
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. Also, the four-week average of new claims generally have been on the rise since the end of September.
SBN In The News – Feb. 3
- The News & Observer: “Thousands of state jobs might be cut balance budget”
- The News & Observer: “Layoff savings would be modest in first year”
- The Charlotte Observer: “State workers fear layoffs as legislators fill budget gap”
- The Charlotte Observer: “Job-cut savings would be modest, especially in the first year”
- The Winston-Salem Journal: “Jobless numbers mixed in region”
- The High Point Enterprise: “Unemployment rate dips but remains high”
- The News & Observer: “Triangle joblessness slips a bit”
- The Charlotte Observer: “Region’s jobless rate falls slightly”
Around The Dial – Feb. 2
Economic policy reports, blog postings, and media stories of interest:
- The Economic Policy Institute argues against a federal budget freeze.
- Rortybomb looks at the “plight of older workers.”
- Rep. Brad Miller of N.C. sets revisits basic facts about the financial crisis.
- Beat the Press doesn’t buy claims about structural unemployment.
- David Leonhardt plumbs “the paradox of corporate taxes.”
Improving Grant Aid At Community Colleges
A new report from Demos lays out a case for strengthening grant programs that assist students attending community colleges.
As this brief highlights, low-income students receive less grant aid at community colleges than at four-year public universities. Community colleges are often the best and only choice for students and low-income students should not be penalized for attending these institutions. In addition,grant dollars should be used in ways that have the most impact on student success—grant aid has a larger impact on the retention and completion rates of low-income students than on high performing students. The Pell Grant, for example, is associated with reducing the likelihood a student will drop out of college. Research has also found that grant aid can be used to influence students’ performance.
A Discussion of NC’s Labor Market
John Quinterno of South by North Strategies recently appeared on the syndicated radio program News & Views. Quinterno and the program’s host, Chris Fitzsimon, discussed the state of North Carolina’s labor market in 2010 and looked at key issues for 2011. Click below to listen to the conversation.
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