For immediate release: May 1, 2020
The Atlanta Fed is launching a data tool to help users find timely information about initial and continued claims for unemployment insurance. The new Unemployment Claims Monitor captures demographic data on the gender, race, ethnicity, age, and industry of prior employment for unemployment insurance claimants nationally and for individual states.
The tool will be updated every Thursday morning to reflect the most recent unemployment insurance weekly claims report and other data from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The Unemployment Claims Monitor will also capture nonregular claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a program created by the federal coronavirus relief bill that covers workers who do not qualify for regular unemployment compensation and are unable to continue working as a result of COVID-19, such as self-employed workers, independent contractors, and gig workers.
The Atlanta Fed will update the tool to include data from the Short-Time Compensation (Workshare), Extended Benefits, State Additional Benefits, Federal Employee, and Ex-Service Member programs as data become available. Future updates will also include county-level unemployment claims where available as well as other data points on unemployment insurance programs across the country.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta serves the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which encompasses Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and sections of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. As part of the nation's central banking system, the Atlanta Fed participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous commercial banks, and provides a variety of financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government.