Research
Continuing Claims Plateau with 20.5 Million on UI Rolls
Daniel Zhao
Chief Economist at Glassdoor | Jun 18, 2020
Continuing claims for unemployment insurance (UI) plateaued at 20.5 million last week. Continuing claims fell by 62,000 to 20.5 million from 20.6 million on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the latest figures from the Department of Labor for the week ending June 6, 2020. While initial claims have steadily slowed, continuing claims—the number of claimants who have been approved, remain unemployed, and claim an additional week of benefits—remain at over 20 million, despite peaking in early May. The plateau in continuing claims points to a recovery that is struggling to stay the course.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance (UI) for the week ending June 13, 2020 dropped to 1.5 million, seasonally adjusted. While the decline in initial claims is encouraging, they still represent over a million additional Americans out of work. The flattening of continuing claims indicates that there isn't enough hiring to overcome these continuing layoffs.
Another 761,000 initial claims, non seasonally adjusted, for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) were also filed, making up over one-third of all initial claims. Additionally, 5 states are still not reporting any PUA claims due to staggered implementation and reporting across the country. Over 9 million continuing claims for the PUA program are filed, indicating that approximately 30 million Americans have been approved for unemployment benefits through either traditional UI or the PUA program.
As states relax restrictions and businesses reopen, the rehiring of furloughed workers should pull continuing claims down, but new demand for workers needs to rise in order to sustain a complete labor market recovery. The path to recovery is littered with obstacles like the expiration of federal support for businesses and workers, resurging COVID-19 cases in some states, and depressed consumer and business demand. Ultimately, the plateau in continuing claims signals that the tentative labor market recovery will likely progress in fits and starts.
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.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance (UI) for the week ending June 13, 2020 dropped to 1.5 million, seasonally adjusted. While the decline in initial claims is encouraging, they still represent over a million additional Americans out of work. The flattening of continuing claims indicates that there isn't enough hiring to overcome these continuing layoffs.
Another 761,000 initial claims, non seasonally adjusted, for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) were also filed, making up over one-third of all initial claims. Additionally, 5 states are still not reporting any PUA claims due to staggered implementation and reporting across the country. Over 9 million continuing claims for the PUA program are filed, indicating that approximately 30 million Americans have been approved for unemployment benefits through either traditional UI or the PUA program.
As states relax restrictions and businesses reopen, the rehiring of furloughed workers should pull continuing claims down, but new demand for workers needs to rise in order to sustain a complete labor market recovery. The path to recovery is littered with obstacles like the expiration of federal support for businesses and workers, resurging COVID-19 cases in some states, and depressed consumer and business demand. Ultimately, the plateau in continuing claims signals that the tentative labor market recovery will likely progress in fits and starts.
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.Daniel Zhao
Daniel Zhao is Chief Economist at Glassdoor. On Glassdoor's Economic Research team, he has conducted research using Glassdoor's unique data on a variety of topics affecting job seekers and employers ranging from the health of the job market to pay transparency to employee engagement & retention. His work has been cited in publications like the New York Times, the Harvard Business Review and more. Prior to joining the Economic Research team, he also worked on improving the user experience for Glassdoor’s consumer jobs product and mobile app. He holds a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics and economics from Harvard College.
Tags:BenefitsUnemployment
