re: Initial Jobless claims 208k today

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The last 13 weeks of initial unemployment claims. It finally moved off 212k, but barely. Again, we are a $30 trillion economy with over 160 million workers. Unemployment insurance is a state program, meaning there are 50 states with 50 rules, 50 different ways to sign up, and 50 websites. Filling out these forms takes work. That alone should give a variability of more than a thousand or two a week. Unemployment insurance is highly seasonal; little things like a holiday on the week make a difference (see around Feb 16, President's Day, and March 29, Easter). Yet, given all this, these numbers barely move. I'm not accusing anyone of anything. Rather I would like someone from the BLS (who collects the data, seasonally adjusts it, and releases it) to offer an explanation for the lack of volatility.

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