Economists' Outlook

Housing stats and analysis from NAR's research experts.

Unemployment Insurance Claims Continue to Trend Down in Week Ending May 4

In each Economic Update, the Research staff analyzes recently released economic indicators and addresses what these indicators mean for REALTORS® and their clients. Today’s update discusses unemployment insurance claims.

  • Initial claims for unemployment insurance filed in the week ending May 4 dropped for the third straight week. Claims fell to 323,000, a decrease of 4,000 claims from the previous week’s upwardly revised level.
  • There is now a discernible and sustained downtrend towards the typical level of 350,000 claims. A lower level of initial claims for unemployment insurance means fewer layoffs in existing jobs and greater job security.
  • For the week ending April 27, the top 5 states that had the largest decreases in claims were California, Michigan, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Florida.
  • What This Means for REALTORS®: Fewer layoffs and more jobs generated (in April, there were 165,000 net new jobs) is a boon to home sales. Based on recent trends, NAR has upgraded the jobs forecast and now expects the economy to generate 1.6 million net payroll jobs in 2013.

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