Vermont Business MagazineWeekly unemployment claims last week rose nearly as much as they fell the prior week, but levels remain below the same time last year. For the week of March 17, 2018, there were 738 claims, 296 more than than they were the previous week, but 153 fewer than they were a year ago.Altogether 6,088 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 16 from a week ago and 852 fewer than a year ago. For most weeks of 2017 and into 2018 claims have been below the year before. This likely represents layoffs associated with the near-end, though still-lingering, ski season.
For UI claims last week by industry, Services, which typically accounts for most claims, more than doubled and accounted for 61 percent of all claims. Manufacturing was 12 percent and Construction was 16 percent of total claims.
The Department processed 0 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08).
Vermont's unemployment rate for February was 2.8 percent. This reflects a one-tenth drop from the revised January, December, November, October and September rates (2.9 percent), as all the major indicators slightlyimproved.SEESTORY.
On July 1, 2017, the state reduced taxable rates for individual employers according to their experience rating. The rate reduction cut the highest UI tax rate from 8.4 percent to 7.7 percent, and the lowest rate from 1.3 percent to 1.1 percent. Additionally, July 1 marked the sunset of a provision that required claimants to wait one week between the time they were determined eligible for benefits to when they could collect those benefits.
Rateswillfall again on July 1, 2018 and payments will increase on January 1, 2019, as claims continue to be lower than previous projections. The rate reduction anticipated in July of 2018 will reduce the highest UI tax rate from 7.7. percent to 6.5 percent. The lowest UI tax rate will see a reduction from 1.1 percent to 0.8 percent.
The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at:http://www.vtlmi.info/. Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at:http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc
NOTE: Employment (nonfarm payroll)- A count of all persons who worked full- or part-time or received pay from a nonagricultural employer for any part of the pay period which included the 12th of the month. Because this count comes from a survey of employers, persons who work for two different companies would be counted twice. Therefore, nonfarm payroll employment is really a count of the number of jobs, rather than the number of persons employed. Persons may receive pay from a job if they are temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, or labor-management dispute. This count is based on where the jobs are located, regardless of where the workers reside, and is therefore sometimes referred to as employment "by place of work." Nonfarm payroll employment data are collected and compiled based on the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, conducted by the Vermont Department of Labor. This count was formerly referred to as nonagricultural wage and salary employment.