Author: James McAllister
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U.S. weekly unemployment insurance claims fall to 192,000
New applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits fell 20,000 for the week ending March 11 to a seasonally adjusted 192,000. The previous week’s figure was revised up from 211,000 to 212,000. The four-week moving average as of March 11 fell to 196,500 from a revised 197,250 as of the week ending March 4. The number…
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Arkansas enacts law reducing length of unemployment insurance benefits
A new Arkansas law effective March 6, 2023, will limit the maximum length of unemployment insurance benefits from 16 weeks to 12 weeks starting Jan. 1, 2024. The bill passed with veto-proof majorities in both chambers (29-3 in the Senate and 79-15 in the House). The law will also reduce the new employer unemployment insurance…
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Arizona State Senate passes unemployment insurance indexing bill
The Arizona State Senate on March 2 passed a bill 16-14 that would index the length of unemployment insurance benefits to the state’s unemployment rate. During times when the unemployment rate is at or below 5%, unemployed workers could collect a maximum of 12 weeks of benefits under the bill. The bill proposes capping the…
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Iowa Senate committee advances unemployment insurance bill
The Iowa Senate’s Workforce Committee advanced a bill on February 28 that proposed reducing the maximum weekly unemployment insurance benefit amount families with three or more dependent children could claim. Currently, Iowa considers the number of dependents an individual or family cares for in determining benefit amounts. This proposed change would create a formula with…
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U.S. weekly unemployment insurance claims fall to 194,000
New applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits fell 1,000 for the week ending February 11 to a seasonally adjusted 194,000. The previous week’s figure was revised down from 196,000 to 195,000. The four-week moving average as of February 11 rose to 189,500 from a revised 189,000 as of the week ending February 4. The number…
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U.S. weekly unemployment insurance claims rise to 196,000
New applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits rose 13,000 for the week ending February 4 to a seasonally adjusted 196,000. The previous week’s figure was unrevised at 183,000. The four-week moving average as of February 4 fell to 189,250 from an unrevised 191,750 as of the week ending January 28. The number of continuing unemployment…
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Indiana lawmakers join ESG pushback
Members of the Indiana General Assembly’s House Financial Institutions Committee on February 2 passed a bill that would require the state to remove all pension funds from management by financial firms that support ESG or consider ESG criteria in investments: “A House committee on Thursday approved a bill requiring the state’s public pension system to…
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U.S. weekly unemployment insurance claims fall to 183,000
New applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits fell 3,000 for the week ending January 28 to a seasonally adjusted 183,000. The previous week’s figure was unrevised at 186,000. The four-week moving average as of January 28 fell to 191,750 from an unrevised 197,500 as of the week ending January 21. The number of continuing unemployment…
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States sue Biden administration over ESG in retirement plans
Twenty-five states announced on January 26 that they had filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration alleging that, in their view, the Department of Labor’s new rule allowing for the consideration of ESG factors in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)-governed retirement investments increased portfolio risk and violated the law: “A group of 25 states…
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U.S. weekly unemployment insurance claims fall to 186,000
New applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits fell 6,000 for the week ending January 21 to a seasonally adjusted 186,000. The previous week’s figure was revised up from 190,000 to 192,000. The four-week moving average as of January 21 fell to 197,500 from a revised 206,750 as of the week ending January 14. The number…