High-Frequency Update: 2-23-25

Feb. 23, 2025

By George W. Hammond, EBRC director and Eller research professor

Arizona new business applications remained strong in January

Third quarter 2020 forecast update webinar

Arizona initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped modestly for the week ended February 15, falling from 3,073 the prior week to 2,842. That was down 12.9% over the year and down 11.8% from 2019.

U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance also fell for the week ended February 15, reaching 222,627. That was down from 232,745 the prior week but up 11.7% over the year. Claims were also up 5.7% from 2019.

The U.S. hotel occupancy rate bounced up to 60.0% for the week ended February 15, up from 55.9% the prior week. That was up 1.4% over the year but down 5.5% from 2019.

U.S. movie box office sales spiked to $206.3 million for the week ended February 20. That was up from $76.3 million the prior week. Sales were up 81.2% over the year and up 12.3% from 2019. New movie releases were down 44.4% from 2019.

U.S. TSA traveler throughput rose to 15.6 million for the week ended February 15, up from 14.3 million the prior week. That was up 0.5% over the year and up 14.9% from 2019.

Weekly data Arizona new business applications will continue to be published by the Census Bureau, but only on a monthly basis. In January, weekly new business applications ranged from 1,030 to 110, with the low weekly total likely reflecting the impact of the New Year's Day holiday. Overall, new business applications remain elevated compared to levels before the pandemic.

Data on seated diners at restaurants using the OpenTable app is no longer being updated to compare the current week to 2019 results.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: Nikola, Arizona maker of emissions-free heavy trucks, files for bankruptcy (AR 2/19)
Automation / AI: What changes to the CHIPS Act could mean for AI growth and consumers (AP 2/16)
Demographic / socioeconomic / Census: Global aging: the (almost) invisible crisis shaping our future (Brookings 2/19)
Economy: How does fiscal policy affect the level of GDP? (Brookings 2/19)
Education / early childhood development: A look at homeschooling in the U.S. (Pew 2/20)
Energy / environment / infrastructure: Trump’s cuts to federal wildfire crews could have ‘scary’ consequences (Stateline 2/18)
Housing / real estate: Housing assistance is facing cuts. State and local agencies are preparing. (Governing 2/21)
Commercial real estate: Industrial building boom is bigger in Texas, signaling growth wave (FRBD 2/5)
Mexico/trade: How Congress can turn tariff lemons into lemonade: a border-adjustment tax (Brookings 2/20)
Prices/inflation: Is inflation still slowing? Early 2025 data pivotal to outlook (FRBD 2/11)
Public finance: IRS cuts over 6,000 jobs in the middle of tax season (NPR 2/20)
Wages/income/wealth: Measuring the income gap from1975 to 2023 (RAND 2/17)
Workforce/employment/labor market: American companies are offshoring high-paying, remote-friendly jobs (Upjohn 2/18)

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.

Note: See (http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/wrgp/mogas_home_page.html) for further definitions. Regular Gasoline has an antiknock index (average of the research octane rating and the motor octane number) greater than or equal to 85 and less than 88. Octane requirements may vary by altitude.

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.