New Unemployment Claims Lowest since 1969.

New unemployment claims fell sharply from the previous week.

By Nate Griffin – November 28th, 2021

According to the latest news release from the Department Of Labor, 259,000 individuals filed new unemployment claims for the week ending November 20th.

After accounting for seasonal variation, the number was adjusted to 199,000, the lowest since November 15th,1969.

For the week ending November 13, continued claims fell by 60,000 from the previous week, continuing the year-long downward trend.

The number of continued claims decline for several reasons, either individuals find employment, or their benefits run out.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that most states currently provide 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, only four states – Alaska, Connecticut, new Jersey and New Mexico – are offering extended benefits.

And, because the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program ended in September, most workers who filed for unemployment benefits early on in the pandemic have likely already used up all their allotted benefits.

So, while continued claims are nearing pre-pandemic levels – and are dramatically lower than the over 20 million claims in May 2020 – over seven million people are still currently looking for work.

State Data

There is, however, large state wide variation, only 22 states reported lower initial claims from the previous week. Certain sectors, like automobile production, have been impacted more by bottlenecks in production and the lingering effects of. Some of these production slowdowns have caused layoffs in some states.

Alaska, California and Massachusetts reported the highest per capita initial claims, with over 1 initial claim per thousand residents. Virginia reported the lowest, with 0.05.

Initial Claims Per 1,000 Residents by State - Week Ending November 20, 2020