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.
