Nevada initial unemployment claims decrease in April; overall claim stability continues
Submitted by editor on Tue, 05/19/2015 - 10:44am
April unemployment claims filed in Nevada were down 9.3 percent from April 2014 figures, with the general trend in claims, captured by the 12-month moving average, remaining relatively flat, falling by 0.8 percent to 14,510 in April, said Bill Anderson, chief economist for Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.
Compared to the first four months of 2009, the worst year for claims in Nevada, 2015’s year-to-date initial claim total is 53 percent lower. In April, 13,550 initial claims for unemployment insurance were filed in Nevada, down 9.3 percent from April 2014 when claims were 14,931.
“Other unemployment insurance claim activity measures continue to show marked improvement,” Anderson said. “Downward trends continue to persist in the total number of weeks claimed, the total unemployment payments, and the average length of time a person receives benefits. While the monthly claims level may have largely stabilized, the individuals receiving benefits are doing so shorter periods of time. This indicates that these claimants are able to find employment much sooner than in the past.”
An initial claim represents the first stage of filing for unemployment benefits and is therefore most closely related to the number of people who have recently lost their jobs, not the overall level of unemployment. Initial claims tend to increase on a seasonal basis during the fall and winter months, and then fall during the spring and summer. Initial claims peaked during the recession at 36,414 in December 2008, and the low point for initial claims was 12,037 in September 2013.
