Unemployment, Productivity

Each day the Research staff takes a look at recently released economic indicators, addressing what these indicators mean for REALTORS® and their clients. Today’s update highlights unemployment insurance claims and productivity growth.

• The number of people filing for unemployment checks for the first time declined in the past week, falling to 367,000 filers.  This marks several consecutive weeks off the critical mark of 400,000.  Above 400,000 would mean too many workers are losing jobs such that any job creation is swamped by other job losses.  So, today’s data is implying some overall net new job creation in the country.
• The total of those receiving unemployment insurance was 3.4 million, a decline of 130,000 from the prior week.
• Unlike the unemployment rate figure, which is considered a lagging indicator of economic conditions, this weekly data is some of the timeliest information on the latest developments on the job front.  So today’s data implies continuing overall job gains in the country.
• In other news on data released today, the U.S. worker productivity rose 0.7 percent.  To go into detail, the total work hours of everyone combined increased 2.9 percent while the overall production rose even higher to 3.6 percent.
• Productivity growth ultimately determines the standard of living of a country.  The more tangible products we can generate with a lower proportionate rise in work hours, the more we will have to enjoy for consumption in the future.