High-Frequency Update: 5-4-25
U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance spiked last week
Arizona initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 4,666 for the week ended April 26, up from 4,439 the prior week. That was up 0.2% over the year but down 12.0% from 2019.
U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 223,614 for the week ended April 26, up from 210,713 the prior week. That was up 17.9% over the year and up 9.2% from 2019.
The U.S. hotel occupancy rate rose to 65.1% for the week ended April 26, up from 61.4% the prior week. That was down 0.9% over the year and down 5.5% from 2019.
U.S. movie box office sales rose slightly for the week ended May 1, reaching $198.3 million. That was up from $197.6 million the prior week. Sales were up 125.1% over the year but down 63.0% from 2019. New movie releases were down 45.7%.
U.S. TSA traveler throughput ticked up to 17.7 million for the week ended April 26, up from 17.4 million the prior week. That was up 2.7% over the year and up 7.5% from 2019.
Weekly data on Arizona new business applications continue to be published by the Census Bureau, but only on a monthly basis. In March, weekly new business applications ranged from 1,100 to 720. A business application total of 1,100 was very high and represented an increase over the year of 59.4%.
Data on seated diners at restaurants using the OpenTable app is no longer being updated to compare the current week to 2019 results.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: Understanding the Federal Reserve’s structure (FRBSL 4/30)
Automation / AI: Productivity savings from Gen AI don’t always add up (Forbes 4/24)
Demographic / socioeconomic / Census: Changes in the safety net over recent decades and their impact (Hamilton Project 5/1)
Economy: Consumer confidence sinks to lowest level since May 2020 (CNN 4/29)
Education / early childhood development: U.S. restores legal status for many students, but the threat may still drive away top talent (NPR 4/28)
Energy / environment / infrastructure: AZ lawmakers, farmers consider farmland conversion program to save water and increase housing (KJZZ 4/29)
Housing / real estate: The number of new apartments is at a 50-year high, but states expect a slowdown (Stateline 5/1)
Commercial real estate: Office-leasing momentum faces headwinds with tariffs and economic uncertainty (PBJ 4/30)
Mexico/trade: How Trump’s 145% China tariffs could crush American small businesses: ‘There’s no facility here that makes what we need’ (CNN 4/26)
Prices/inflation: Supply, demand and the post-lockdown inflation surge (FRBSL 4/24)
Public finance: How would a state cost share affect SNAP in a recession? (Urban Inst 4/30)
Workforce/employment/labor market: Do older workers change their labor supply in response to housing wealth shocks? (Upjohn 4/30)