South By North Strategies, Ltd.

NC Unemployment Claims: Week of 4/30

For the benefit week ending on April 30th, 13,551 North Carolinians filed initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits, and 110,809 individuals applied for state-funded continuing benefits. Compared to the prior week, there were fewer initial and continuing claims. These figures come from data released 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  11,698 initial claims were filed over the previous four weeks, along with an average of 111,957 continuing claims. Compared to the previous four-week period, there were fewer initial and continuing claims.

One year ago, the four-week average for initial claims stood at 12,905 and the four-week average of continuing claims equaled 176,639.

While the number of claims has dropped over the past year so has covered employment. Last week, covered employment totaled 3.7 million, down from 3.8 million a year ago.

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.

Both new and continuing claims appear to have peaked for this cycle, and the four-week averages of new and continuing claims have fallen considerably. Yet continuing claims remain at an elevated level, which suggests that unemployed individuals are finding it difficult to find new positions.

Editor’s Note: April Jobs Report

South by North Strategies will not be releasing a written analysis of the April 2010 jobs report for North Carolina on the morning of May 20, 2011.

Firm representatives, however, will be available for comment via phone or email. Interested journalists should contact John Quinterno at johnq[at]sbnstrategies[dot]com or 919-622-2392.

Thank you for your interest in South by North Strategies, Ltd.

Around The Dial – 5/19/11

Economic policy reports, blog postings, and media stories of interest:

• Economix points out “economics for sale.”
• The PBS NewsHour explains the debt ceiling.
• Beat the Press explains why the over-valued dollar matters.
• Simon Johnson asks if the U.S. will have a debt crisis.
• Martin Wolf thinks about “the Eurozone after Strauss-Kahn.”
• The Baseline Scenario sees “the silliness of spending caps.”

Tax Credits For Working Families

A new brief from the N.C. Budget and Tax Center explains the benefits of state tax credits targeted at working families.

The design of a tax system, just like a state budget, reflects the values and priorities of a state. North Carolina’s lawmakers have identified effective tax credits for working families as critical tools for promoting work, supporting child development and growing the state’s middle class.
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At the same time, these tax credits, especially the Earned Income Tax Credit, go some way toward minimizing the existing upside‐down nature of the tax system, which requires lower‐income households to pay more in total state and local taxes as a share of their income than higher‐income households do. Evidence has found that such supports for families with children reap benefits for decades through improved school achievement and earning potential.
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North Carolina’s policymakers should continue to support these investments. The benefits will be shared broadly through a stronger middle class now and in the future.

Click here to access a table that breaks out the use of the three tax credits by county.

Graphing A Loss Of Memory

Via Economist’s View … a graph showing how the issue of unemployment is disappearing from media stories.