Vision Payroll

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending April 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 456,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 480,000. The 4-week moving average was 460,250, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 457,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.6% for the week ending April 10, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the prior week’s revised rate of 3.7%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 10 was 4,646,000, a decrease of 40,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,686,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,643,750, a decrease of 5,500 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,649,250.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.202 million.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending April 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 484,000, an increase of 24,000 from the previous week’s unrevised figure of 460,000. The 4-week moving average was 457,750, an increase of 7,500 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 450,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.6% for the week ending April 3, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.5%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 3 was 4,639,000, an increase of 73,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,566,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,638,500, a decrease of 13,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,652,250.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.217 million.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending April 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 460,000, an increase of 18,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 442,000. The 4-week moving average was 450,250, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 448,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5% for the week ending March 27, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.6%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 27 was 4,550,000, a decrease of 131,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,681,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,648,250, a decrease of 36,000 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,684,250.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.236 million.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000 in March, and the unemployment rate held at 9.7%, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently. Temporary help services and health care continued to add jobs over the month. Employment in federal government also rose, reflecting the hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010. Employment continued to decline in financial activities and in information.

In March, the number of unemployed persons was little changed at 15.0 million, and the unemployment rate remained at 9.7%.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (10.0%), adult women (8.0%), teenagers (26.1%), whites (8.8%), blacks (16.5%), and Hispanics (12.6%) showed little or no change in March. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.5%, not seasonally adjusted.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) increased by 414,000 over the month to 6.5 million. In March, 44.1% of unemployed persons were jobless for 27 weeks or more.

The civilian labor force participation rate (64.9%) and the employment-population ratio (58.6%) continued to edge up in March.

The number of persons working part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) increased to 9.1 million in March. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

About 2.3 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force in March, compared with 2.1 million a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.

Among the marginally attached, there were 1.0 million discouraged workers in March, up by 309,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.3 million persons marginally attached to the labor force had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending March 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 439,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 445,000. The 4-week moving average was 447,250, a decrease of 6,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 454,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.6% for the week ending March 20, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.6%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 20 was 4,662,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,668,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,679,500, a decrease of 12,500 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,692,000.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.259 million. The increase in this number is attributable to the implementation of new seasonal factors.

The US Department of Labor recently announced the publication of a final rule to protect employee contributions deposited to small pension and welfare benefit plans with fewer than 100 participants by providing a safe harbor period of seven business days following receipt or withholding by employers.

“This rule will give employers greater clarity in remitting participant contributions to small pension and welfare plans in a timely manner,” said Phyllis C. Borzi, assistant secretary of labor for the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. “We estimate participant accounts could grow by $19 to $44 million as a result of these rules.”

Currently, employers of all sizes must transmit employee contributions to pension plans as soon as they can reasonably be segregated from the general assets of the employer, but no later than the 15th business day of the month following the month in which contributions are received or withheld by the employer. The latest date for forwarding participant contributions to health plans is 90 days from the date on which such amounts are received or withheld by the employer.

The final rule amends the participant contribution rules to create a safe harbor period under which participant contributions to a small plan will be deemed to comply with the law if those amounts are deposited with the plan within seven business days of receipt or withholding. The final rule is consistent with the proposed rule. The department did not expand the safe harbor to cover plans with 100 or more participants due to a lack of information and data sufficient to evaluate current practices of such employers and assess the costs, benefits and risks to participants associated with extending the safe harbor to large plans.

The final rule was published in the January 14, 2010, edition of the Federal Register and was effective on the date of publication. Contact Vision Payroll if you have further questions.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending March 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 442,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 456,000. The 4-week moving average was 453,750, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 464,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.6% for the week ending March 13, unchanged from the prior week’s revised rate of 3.6%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 13 was 4,648,000, a decrease of 54,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,702,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,689,000, a decrease of 36,500 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,725,500.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.140 million.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending March 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 457,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s unrevised figure of 462,000. The 4-week moving average was 471,250, a decrease of 4,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 475,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5% for the week ending March 6, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.5%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 6 was 4,579,000, an increase of 12,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,567,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,575,250, a decrease of 8,000 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,583,250.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.166 million.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending March 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 462,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 468,000. The 4-week moving average was 475,500, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 470,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5% for the week ending February 27, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.5%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Feb. 27 was 4,558,000, an increase of 37,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,521,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,581,000, unchanged from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,581,000.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.170 million.

Nonfarm payroll employment was little changed (-36,000) in February, and the unemployment rate held at 9.7%, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently. Employment fell in construction and information, while temporary help services added jobs. Severe winter weather in parts of the country may have affected payroll employment and hours; however, it is not possible to quantify precisely the net impact of the winter storms on these measures. For more information on the effects of the severe weather on employment estimates, see the box note at the end of the release.

In February, the number of unemployed persons, at 14.9 million, was essentially unchanged, and the unemployment rate remained at 9.7%.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (10.0%), adult women (8.0%), whites (8.8%), blacks (15.8%), Hispanics (12.4%), and teenagers (25.0%) showed little to no change in February. The jobless rate for Asians was 8.4%, not seasonally adjusted.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was 6.1 million in February and has been about that level since December. About 4 in 10 unemployed persons have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more.

In February, the civilian labor force participation rate (64.8%) and the employment-population ratio (58.5%) were little changed.

The number of persons working part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) increased from 8.3 to 8.8 million in February, partially offsetting a large decrease in the prior month. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

About 2.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force in February, an increase of 476,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.

Among the marginally attached, there were 1.2 million discouraged workers in February, up by 473,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.3 million persons marginally attached to the labor force had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.