Claims for Unemployment Insurance Remain Unchanged from Last Week

CNN is reporting that the number of first-time claims made for unemployment insurance remained unchanged in comparison to last week

The number of new applications that were filed by first-timers for unemployment insurance over the past week remained unchanged in comparison to the number of applications that were reported for the previous week, which ended on November 14th. The statistics were unveiled by a U.S. Labor Department report that was released on Thursday, indicating that new claims for unemployment benefits went from 505,000 to 505,000, according to CNN.com.

Expert economist Ian Shepherdson provided a comment about the research that was conducted by the U.S. Labor Department, stating, “After two hefty declines, claims were due a pause this week. Even when the underlying trend is clear, claims tend not to run in the same direction week after week. [Claims] are heading in the right direction.”

While the statistics appear to be a cause of optimism for some, there are skeptics who are under the impression that the decline in claims for unemployment insurance are a result of those whose benefits have expired. The recently extended benefits that were revealed by President Obama’s administration were not included in the Labor Department’s report.

There were also 18 states that reported an increase in claims by first-timers for unemployment benefits by more than 1,000, including New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Michigan and Ohio, according to CNN.com.