This week’s initial jobless claims surged following the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. If history is any indicator, we’ll likely see the surge drop off after a few weeks similar to when Hurricane Katrina smacked the South. It took 8 weeks for Katrina to fully renormalize. When state level data is available for New York, New Jersey and other hard-hit East coast states, we’ll be able to tell if the rise in claims is truly attributable to Sandy.
