The number of new unemployment insurance claims because of unemployment in the week of May 7-14 reached 1,157 claims; a 5% increase from the previous week. The total number of unemployment insurance claims that week was 13,190, including initial and continued claims. The total amount of claims had an increase of 3.94% when compared to the previous week.
When comparing the data to the same week in the previous year, there was a -42.84% decrease in initial claims, and a -67.63% decrease in total claims. There was a large over-the-year decrease in the amount of insurance claims filed due to unemployment.
When comparing the week of May 14, to the same week in the pre-pandemic year, 2019, the number of initial claims was 4% larger, and the number of total claims decreased by -7.50% after the pandemic.
The insured unemployment rate of May 14, 2022 reached 1.43, a 3.6% increase when compared to the previous week, -67% decrease when compared to the same week in the previous year. When compared to the pre-pandemic year it had a -8.9% decrease.
Less people are filing unemployment insurance claims this year because there are less unemployed people today than a year prior. Although in the week of May 7-14, 2022 there was an increase, it doesn’t necessarily indicate it will continue to be a trend. The long-term comparisons suggest that the number of unemployment insurance claims are decreasing, therefore the number of unemployed people can be assumed to be decreasing as well. This is consistent with the latest data released by the Department of Labor which shows that the number of unemployed individuals is at its lowest point in at least 30 years.
