| In the week ending March 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 385,000, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 357,000 and 4.6% above the number for the same week a year ago. The 4-week moving average was 354,250, an increase of 11,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 343,000:
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate* was 2.4 percent for the week ending March 23, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 16 were in Alaska (5.7), Puerto Rico (4.4), New Jersey (4.0), Rhode Island (4.0), Pennsylvania (3.9), Connecticut (3.8), Montana (3.8), Wisconsin (3.7), California (3.6), and Massachusetts (3.6). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 23 were in California (+8,712), Texas (+2,736), Kansas (+1,611), Arkansas (+1,542), and Pennsylvania (+1,448), while the largest decreases were in Virginia (-1,117), Massachusetts (-804), South Carolina (-602), Puerto Rico (-529), and North Carolina (-503). Click on chart to enlarge *Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS |
04 April 2013
• U.S. Initial Unemployment [Jobless] Claims Up 28kk
03 April 2013
• Milford Employer to Layoff
| The CTDOL says that the Warnaco Group, Inc. of Milford will layoff 208 employees beginning on or about 6/1/13.
Source: CTDOL |
02 April 2013
• “EEOC Releases 2012 Discrimination Data “
| “The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued figures related to workplace discrimination charges filed with it in fiscal year 2012.”
Source: BLR.com/HR |
• “AEDs in the Workplace: Benefit or Burden?“
| “An automated external defibrillator (AEDs) in the workplace could be a lifesaver. "But malfunctions and recalls, legal requirements, and costs and potential liability have kept some organizations from buying in.” Source: SHRM |
• U.S. Factory Orders – February 2013
| New orders for manufactured goods in February, up
two of the last three months, increased $14.5 billion or
3.0 percent to $492.0 billion.
This was at the highest level since 1992 and followed a 1.0 percent January decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.3 percent. Source: USDOC-Census |
01 April 2013
• U.S. Construction Spending – February 2013
| Construction spending during February 2013 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $885.1 billion, 1.2 percent (±1.5%) above the revised January estimate of $874.8 billion. The February figure is 7.9 percent (±2.1%) above the February 2012 estimate of $820.7 billion. During the first 2 months of this year, construction spending amounted to $120.1 billion, 6.6 percent (±1.8%) above the $112.6 billion for the same period in 2012. Source: USDOC-Census |
• U.S. Purchasing Managers Manufacturing Report – March 2013
| “Manufacturing expanded in March as the PMI™ registered 51.3 percent, a decrease of 2.9 percentage points when compared to February's reading of 54.2 percent. "This month's reading reflects the fourth consecutive month of growth in the manufacturing sector. "A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting.” Source: Institute for Supply Management |