South By North Strategies, Ltd.

For the benefit week ending on December 19th, 13,230 North Carolinians filed initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits, and 185,313 individuals applied for state-funded continuing insurance benefits. Compared to the prior week, there were fewer initial and continuing claims. (The filing week, however, had fewer business days due to the Christmas holiday.) These figures come from data released today by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Averaging new and continuing claims over a four-week period — a process that helps adjust for seasonal fluctuations and better illustrates trends — shows that an average of 19,954 initial claims were filed over the last four weeks, along with an average of 193,955 continuing claims. Compared to the previous four-week period, initial claims were lower, continuing claims higher.

One year ago, the four-week average for initial claims stood at 28,106 and the four-week average of continuing claims equaled 161,112.

The graph (right) shows the changes in unemployment insurance claims (as a share of covered employment) in North Carolina since the recession’s start in December 2007.

Although new and continuing claims appear to have peaked for this business cycle, the claims levels remain elevated and point to a labor market that remains extremely weak. Especially troubling is the high level of continuing claims, which suggests that unemployed individuals are finding it extremely difficult to find new positions.