South By North Strategies, Ltd.

For the benefit week ending on January 23rd, 19,385 North Carolinians filed initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits, and 208,438 individuals applied for state-funded continuing benefits. Compared to the prior week, there were fewer initial claims but more continuing ones. 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 26,323 initial claims were filed over the last four weeks, along with an average of 215,063 claims. Compared to the previous four-week period, both initial and continuing claims were lower.

One year ago, the four-week average for initial claims stood at 35,549 and the four-week average of continuing claims equaled 206,673.

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.