Department of Labor Releases 2016 State Unemployment Insurance Report

American Staffing Association (02/26/16)  Toby Malara

The 2016 State Unemployment Insurance Report has been released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Unemployment Insurance.

As of the end of 2015, four states and jurisdictions (California, Connecticut, Ohio, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) still had outstanding loans to the federal government, totaling $7.36 billion. Six states (Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Texas) currently have outstanding private loan and debt service obligations totaling $8.3 billion.

Even though most states’ trust funds show positive balances, only 18 states have balances that meet or exceed DOL’s recommended solvency level. States without sufficient funds in their trust accounts likely would have to borrow money from the federal government in the event of another recession.

In his latest budget, President Obama recommended several proposed reforms to state unemployment insurance programs. One proposal would require states to provide at least 26 weeks of coverage while maintaining reserves in their UI trust fund accounts sufficient to provide benefits for at least six months of an average economic recession. While these provisions are unlikely to be adopted by this Congress, they may be part of a future administration’s agenda.

The DOL report is available at dol.gov.

U.S. Jobless Claims Jump to 276,000

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits climbed by 16,000 to 276,000 at the end of October to match the highest level in the past two months. Economists polled by the MarketWatch had expected claims to total 262,000 in the seven days running from Oct. 25 to Oct. 31. Despite the increase claims are still near the lowest level in 15 years. The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, rose by 3,500 to seasonally adjusted 262,750, the Labor Department said Thursday. The monthly average smooths out sharp fluctuations in the more volatile weekly report and is seen as a more accurate predictor of labor-market trends. Some 2.16 million people collected weekly unemployment checks in the seven days ended Oct. 24. These so-called continuing claims were 17,000 higher compared to the prior week.

U.S. jobless claims fall 6,000 to 271,000

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – New applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to 271,000 in the seven days ended August 22, the first decline after four straight weekly gains. The latest report on initial claims indicate the labor market is still improving. initial claims have clung below the key 300,000 threshold for 25 weeks, the longest stretch in more than 15 years. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast initial claims to fall to 270,000. The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, edged up by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 272,500, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average smooths out sharp fluctuations in the more volatile weekly report and is seen as a more accurate predictor of labor-market trends. Continuing jobless claims increased by 13,000 to 2.27 million in the week ended Aug. 15. These claims reflect people already receiving unemployment checks.