High-Frequency Update: 11-16-25

Nov. 16, 2025

By George W. Hammond, research professor

U.S. TSA traveler throughput ticked down last week

Third quarter 2020 forecast update webinar

Arizona initial claims for unemployment insurance have not been updated due to issues at the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.

U.S. weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance data will not be updated during the federal government shutdown.

The U.S. hotel occupancy rate rose to 64.2% for the week ended November 8, up from 59.3% the prior week. That was up 2.6% over the year but down 7.0% from 2019.

U.S. movie box office sales rose to $114.1 million for the week ended November 13, up from $81.1 million the prior week. That was up 18.1% over the year but down 33.4% from 2019. New movie releases were down 36.3% from 2019.

U.S. TSA traveler throughput ticked down to 16.4 million for the week ended November 8, down from 16.8 million the prior week. That was down 0.4% over the year but up 2.5% from 2019.

Weekly data on Arizona new business applications continue to be published by the Census Bureau, but only on a monthly basis. Data for September has not been updated due to the federal government shutdown.

Data on seated diners at restaurants using the OpenTable app is no longer being updated to compare the current week to 2019 results.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: Arizona needs more construction, tech workers. Private and federal dollars could help (AR 11/5)
Automation / AI: AI seems everywhere, but regional readiness is uneven (Brookings 11/5)
Demographic / socioeconomic / Census: Southern Arizona healthcare leaders warn of devastating impact from federal funding cuts (AZPM 10/31)
Economy: Banking system vulnerability: 2025 update (FRBNY 11/4)
Education / early childhood development: College is still worth it, even with student debt, but we can do better (Brookings 11/3)
Energy / environment / infrastructure: The future of data centers (Brookings 11/5)
Housing / real estate: ICE is sending a chill through the construction industry (NPR 11/6)
Commercial real estate: Phoenix lands in top 10 real estate market to watch in 2026 (PBJ 11/5)
Mexico/trade: Tariffs are a particularly bad way to raise revenue (Brookings 11/4)
Prices/inflation: Surging power costs are putting the squeeze on customers (WSJ 11/1)
Workforce/employment/labor market: Signs of cyclical weakness in part-time employment? (FRBSF 11/3)

Weekly Indicators

Use your cursor as a tooltip and click on charts to view values. Click on the names of indicators listed at the bottom any chart to switch them on/off to view fewer at one time and make comparisons. Icons allow you to download and share.

Note: The official initial claims for unemployment insurance numbers for the U.S. are released every Thursday morning covering the week ending on the previous Saturday.

The U.S. Census Bureau continues to produce weekly estimates; however, the weekly estimate files are published as part of the Monthly Business Formation Statistics (BFS) Release.One key dataset with these estimates is High-Propensity Business Applications, a subset of total weekly business applications in Arizona that measures the number of applications with a high-propensity of turning into a business with a payroll, based on various factors. These data reflect weekly applications for Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) in Arizona which are likely to result in employment and wages. These include applications: (a) from a corporate entity, (b) that indicate they are hiring employees, purchasing a business or changing organizational type, (c) that provide a first wages-paid date (planned wages); or (d) that have a NAICS industry code in manufacturing (31-33), retail stores (44), health care (62), or restaurants/food service (72). Applications for EINs occur before the jobs and wages are added, so this is a leading indicator. Read more about the Business Application dataset from the U.S. Census Bureau.