TEN_33-14_Acc.pdf

ETA Advisory File Text

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WASHINGTON D.C. 20210 TO STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES FROM PORTIA WU Assistant Secretary SUBJECT Publication of State Level ETA 538 Advance Claims in Weekly Unemployment Insurance Claims News Release 1. Purpose. To announce the Employment and Training Administration s ETA intention to publish state level detail of advance claims in the weekly Unemployment Insurance Claims News Release. 2. References. Unemployment Insurance UI Handbook No. 401 4 th Edition sections I-1 and I-6 Reports and Analysis Letter RAL No. 2-93 and Weekly Unemployment Insurance Claims News Releases. 3. Background. The ETA 538 Advance Weekly Initial and Continued Claims Report was developed in 1993 to allow ETA to gather and report data on weekly initial claims a leading economic indicator and continued weeks claimed another economic indicator within one week after the close of the week during which these claims are filed and is described further in RAL No. 2-93 accessible on ETA s website at http wdr.doleta.gov directives . Data on the ETA 538 includes intrastate claims as well as all interstate claims received directly by the paying state prior to interstate sorting. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics program publishes employment unemployment and labor force data for Census regions and divisions States counties metropolitan areas and many cities by place of residence. Similarly the official UI weekly claims series is based on state of residence. However interstate unemployment claims reflecting state of residence which are reported on the ETA 539 report are not available in as timely a manner as interstate unemployment claims received by the paying state. Currently the News Releases for Weekly Unemployment Insurance Claims include an advance compilation of initial claims and weeks claimed data on a national basis based on ETA 538 submissions for the prior week. These aggregated national totals provide an unduplicated count of claims that should be very close to the more refined number compiled from the ETA 539 report that is published in the News Release in the subsequent week. State level claims based on the ETA 539 report have been included in the News Release however state level claims data based on the ETA 538 have not been published as part of the TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT NOTICE NO. DATE 2 News Release. UI Handbook No. 401 explains The ETA 539 will continue to be the source for published state-by-state information about initial and weeks claimed. 4. Publication of State ETA 538 Data in News Releases. In response to requests for state- level data and greater transparency the ETA has decided to publish in addition to the advance compilation of initial claims and weeks claimed data on a national basis the state- by-state information reported on the ETA 538 submissions in advance of the sorting of interstate claims. These data will provide added detail to explain the advance national claims activity and will be properly footnoted to indicate that they are not directly comparable to the official state level claims series based on the ETA 539 because the interstate activity has not yet been sorted. The first weekly News Release which will contain state level detail of advance claims is expected to be released on Thursday July 2 2015. 5. Action Requested. State Administrators are requested to provide this notice to appropriate staff. 6. Inquiries. Questions should be directed to Tom Stengle at stengle.thomas dol.gov .