Initial unemployment insurance (UI) claims rose last week, an indicator that the weekly layoffs may be rising as the labor market recovery reaches a plateau. This comes at a time when the Department of Labor is adjusting its seasonal adjustment methodology to better capture the current labor market in the depths of an unprecedented crisis.
Initial UI claims inched up by just 7,591, rising to 833,352 from 825,761, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, according to the latest figures from the Department of Labor for the week ending August 29. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims rose significantly to 759,482. UI and PUA claims together have risen for the last four weeks in a row, largely driven by the increase in PUA claims. 
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, 881,000 initial UI claims were filed. This is the first week using the Department of Labor's new seasonal adjustment methodology, meaning seasonally adjusted initial claims from before the week ending August 29 are not comparable. Moving forward, the gap between seasonally adjusted and non-seasonally adjusted data should be smaller and more accurate, though we plan to focus on the non-seasonally adjusted data to preserve comparability. *For more detail, please refer to our explainer at the bottom of this post.
Continuing claims for UI fell to 13.1 million for the week ending August 22, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. Continuing claims are also affected by the Department of Labor's new seasonal adjustment methodology, though starting from the week ending August 22 instead. Continuing claims present a more optimistic view of the labor market than other indicators, recovering much faster in August than July.
UI claims over the next few weeks are likely to remain elevated due to several recent natural disasters, including the Iowa derecho event, California wildfires and Hurricanes Marco and Laura. Additionally, several prominent companies, including MGM, American Airlines, Delta, United and Ford, have announced large layoffs in the last few weeks which will also begin affecting claims data soon.
The upcoming August jobs report will confirm whether the labor market is indeed settling into a slower rate of recovery. While UI claims have improved in fits and starts over the course of the crisis, they remain historically elevated and suggest that we may be in for slow but steady gains over the next few weeks.
To speak with Daniel Zhao about today’s report or to discuss labor market trends, contact pr at Glassdoor dot com. For the latest economics and labor market updates, follow @danielbzhao on Twitter and subscribe to Glassdoor Economic Research.
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, 881,000 initial UI claims were filed. This is the first week using the Department of Labor's new seasonal adjustment methodology, meaning seasonally adjusted initial claims from before the week ending August 29 are not comparable. Moving forward, the gap between seasonally adjusted and non-seasonally adjusted data should be smaller and more accurate, though we plan to focus on the non-seasonally adjusted data to preserve comparability. *For more detail, please refer to our explainer at the bottom of this post.
Continuing claims for UI fell to 13.1 million for the week ending August 22, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. Continuing claims are also affected by the Department of Labor's new seasonal adjustment methodology, though starting from the week ending August 22 instead. Continuing claims present a more optimistic view of the labor market than other indicators, recovering much faster in August than July.
UI claims over the next few weeks are likely to remain elevated due to several recent natural disasters, including the Iowa derecho event, California wildfires and Hurricanes Marco and Laura. Additionally, several prominent companies, including MGM, American Airlines, Delta, United and Ford, have announced large layoffs in the last few weeks which will also begin affecting claims data soon.
The upcoming August jobs report will confirm whether the labor market is indeed settling into a slower rate of recovery. While UI claims have improved in fits and starts over the course of the crisis, they remain historically elevated and suggest that we may be in for slow but steady gains over the next few weeks.
To speak with Daniel Zhao about today’s report or to discuss labor market trends, contact pr at Glassdoor dot com. For the latest economics and labor market updates, follow @danielbzhao on Twitter and subscribe to Glassdoor Economic Research.