High-Frequency Update: 10-20-24
The U.S. hotel occupancy rate bounced up last week
Arizona initial claims for unemployment insurance rose 6.5% over the year for the week ended October 12. Claims fell over the week from 3,752 to 3,465 and were down 11.5% from 2019.
U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 224,763 for the week ended October 12, down from 236,179 the prior week. That was up 23.2% over the year and up 11.4% from 2019.
The U.S. hotel occupancy rate bounced up to 70.3% for the week ended October 12, up from 65.6% the prior week. That was up 2.6% over the year but down 0.7% from 2019.
U.S. movie box office sales dropped to $106.0 million for the week ended October 17, down from $112.8 million the prior week. That was down 31.3% over the year and down 47.6% from 2019. New movie releases were down 46.6% from 2019.
U.S. TSA traveler throughput bounced up to 17.3 million for the week ended October 12, up from 16.9 million the prior week. That was down 1.8% over the year but up 4.3% from 2019.
Weekly data Arizona new business applications will continue to be published by the Census Bureau, but only on a monthly basis. In September Arizona new business applications increased over the year for the first two weeks but weakened in the second half of the month. Applications were down 7.4% over the year for the week ended September 28, at 630.
Data on seated diners at restaurants using the OpenTable app is no longer being updated to compare the current week to 2019 results.
As of October 15, 2022, Google stopped updating mobility data.
Key News Articles and Research (subscription may be required)
Curated by Valorie Rice, Senior Business Information Specialist
Arizona and general topics: Is zoning government’s ‘most significant regulatory power’? (Governing 10/11)
Automation / AI: The world needs a ‘premortem’ on generative AI and its use in education (Brookings 10/15)
Demographic / socioeconomic / Census: Birth rates fall but good planning can help counties handle population declines (Upjohn)
Economy: False business filings may have inflates Colorado’s economic data (Governing 10/15)
Education / early childhood development: Childcare use and expenses among families of different income levels (FRBC)
Energy / environment / infrastructure: Number of electric vehicles in Arizona has tripled, outpacing charging station installation (Cronkite 10/17)
Housing / real estate: Amid affordability crisis, builders continue pivot toward condos and townhomes (Zillow 10/17)
Prices/inflation: Searching for “inflation canaries” in household surveys (FRBC)
Workforce/employment/labor market: How has immigrant employment changed since the pandemic? (FRBM 10/16)