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 the latest unemployment insurance claims.
- Fewer initial claims for unemployment insurance were filed in the week ending June 8. Claims dropped to 334,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level. Initial claims filed are now back to the “normal” or pre-recession level of about 350,000.
- Notwithstanding the positive trend on unemployment insurance, job growth needs to accelerate to make a bigger dent on ensuring employment for recent college and high school graduates. The percentage of the adults employed in relation to population has been stuck at about 56 percent since 2009, down from 63 percent prior to the 2008-09 Great Recession.
- What this means for REALTORS®: Fewer job losses and more job gains will provide support to increased home sales. However, much faster job growth is required to raise the employment ratio.
