• Connecticut: What’s the Status of Our State?

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“Connecticut simply cannot maintain the status quo. If the state continues to travel along the trajectory established by current Governor Dannel Malloy, it runs the real risk of becoming one of the least-desirable places in the nation, for businesses and residents alike….” Please visit this link to read the full article: Forbes

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“Connecticut's taxes, strangling regulations, restrictive laws and the cost of living are responsible for driving residents out of the state, at least according to letter writers to The Courant in recent weeks. Not so fast, say others, you get what you pay for, including a high quality of life, good government services, highly educated residents and one of the nation's top performing school systems….” Please visit this link to read the full article: The Courant

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• U.S. Real GDP – Q2 2014

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Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 4.2 percent in the second quarter of 2014, according to the "second" estimate. In the first quarter, real GDP decreased 2.1 percent. The GDP estimate released today is based on more complete source data than were available for the "advance" estimate issued last month. The increase in real GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), private inventory investment, exports, nonresidential fixed investment, state and local government spending, and residential fixed investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased. See the complete report at this link: USDOC-BEA

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• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims – 23 August 2014

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In the week ending August 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 298,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 298,000 to 299,000. The 4-week moving average was 299,750, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 300,750 to 301,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent for the week ending August 16, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 16 was 2,527,000, an increase of 25,000 from the previous week's revised level. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending August 9 were in Puerto Rico (4.2), New Jersey (3.3), Connecticut (3.1), Alaska (3.0), Pennsylvania (2.7), California (2.6), Rhode Island (2.6), Massachusetts (2.5), Nevada (2.5), Illinois (2.3). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 16 were in Georgia (+874), Alabama (+575), Connecticut (+467), Hawaii (+387), and Iowa (+131), while the largest decreases were in California (-8,771), Florida (- 1,462), Illinois (-1,442), Michigan (-1,401), and Texas (-1,050). Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS

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• U.S. Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment -- July 2014

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Unemployment rates were lower in July than a year earlier in 348 of the 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 16 areas, and unchanged in 8 areas. Fifteen areas had jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent and 68 areas had rates of less than 5.0 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 327 metropolitan areas, decreased in 41 areas, and was unchanged in 4 areas. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS

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• U.S. Online Help-Wanted Advertising – June 2014

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”Online advertised vacancies showed a small drop of 15,500 to 5,044,600 in July, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine® (HWOL) Data Series…. The June Supply/Demand rate stands at 1.9 unemployed for each advertised vacancy with a total of 4.4 million more unemployed workers than the number of advertised vacancies.... “’Labor demand continues to be at historically high levels with employer demand running at about 5 million ads each month,’ said Dr. Gad Levanon, Director of Macroeconomics and Labor Markets at The Conference Board. “’hile the average monthly increases have become more modest since early 2013, the overall trend has helped lower unemployment levels and reduced the U.S. Supply/Demand rate from a peak of 5.2 in June 2009 to 1.9 in June 2014.’” See the complete report at this link: The Conference Board

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• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims – 16 August 2014

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In the week ending August 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 298,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 311,000 to 312,000. The 4-week moving average was 300,750, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 295,750 to 296,000. Click on chart to enlarge The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent for the week ending August 9, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 9 was 2,500,000, a decrease of 49,000 from the previous week's revised level. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending August 2 were in Puerto Rico (4.3), New Jersey (3.3), Alaska (3.1), Connecticut (3.1), Pennsylvania (2.9), California (2.8), Rhode Island (2.6), Massachusetts (2.5), Nevada (2.5), and the Virgin Islands (2.3). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 9 were in California (+10,107), New York (+1,928), Massachusetts (+1,451), Michigan (+1,423), and Florida (+1,236), while the largest decreases were in Connecticut (- 397), Kansas (-305), South Carolina (-225), Arkansas (-206), and Hawaii (-188). Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS

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• U.S. Real Earnings – July 2014

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Real average hourly earnings for all employees was unchanged from June to July, seasonally adjusted. This result stems from an unchanged average hourly earnings, combined with a 0.1 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). Click on chart to enlarge: Real average hourly earnings was unchanged, seasonally adjusted, from July 2013 to July 2014. The unchanged real average hourly earnings, combined with a 0.3 percent increase in the average workweek, resulted in a 0.3 percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period. *Note: Real earnings show the effect of inflation on your pay. If your salary went up by 2.1% over the year while the cost-of-living (CPI-U) rose 2.3%, then the “real” value of your salary fell by 0.2% [differences in some of the data are due to rounding and seasonal adjustment]. The figures reported here are earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls, seasonally adjusted. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS

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