Using a new methodology to calculate seasonally adjusted claims, the Department of Labor released its weekly report on weekly first time unemployment claims, showing that 881,000 new claims were filed in the week ending August 29th.
The number was 13% lower than the previous week’s adjusted average of 1,011,000, and the lowest the number has been since the coronavirus pandemic prompted widespread layoffs in mid-March. It’s just the second report to record first time unemployment claims under one million in that time.
The new methodology for the calculation reduces the impact of adjusted seasonal unemployment claims, changing from a multiplicative factor to an additive factor of the overall claims, thereby lowering the net adjusted claims.
“Starting in September Bureau of Labor Statistics staff, who provide the seasonal adjustment factors, specified these series as additive,” the DoL announcement states. “In accordance with the usual practice, the seasonal adjustment models and factors will be reviewed at the beginning of each calendar year, when prior years of seasonally adjusted estimates will be subject to revision.”
Even given the reduction methodology, the DoL announcement states that the number of people receiving unemployment assistance of any sort jumped by nearly 2.2 million in the previous week, to 29,224,546. One year ago, that figure was just 1,639,622.