This blog post was written by Erin Fitzpatrick. Erin is a Summer Research Intern and is currently studying at George Washington University pursuing a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. in Political Science.

  • Initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased in the week ending July 11 to 281,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week’s level. This is the 19th straight week that initial claims have fallen below 300,000. The 4-week moving average increased slightly to 282,500, but is still below 300,000. Analysts consider a level below 300,000 to be indicative of a healthy job market, with fewer claims signifying fewer layoffs and greater job stability.
  •  States with the largest decreases occurred in New Jersey (-3,276), Texas (-2,405), Connecticut (-2,180), Maryland (-1,304), and South Carolina (-905). States showing the largest increases include Michigan (+9,961), New York (+6,488), California (+5,714), Ohio (+3,190), and Missouri (+2,661).
  • If job losses continue at this level, NAR expects 2.5 million net new jobs in 2015 and 5.3 million in existing home sales. 

image Erin

Advertisement