Deposits Fall as Unemployment Climbs

If the past five years are any indication, as long as unemployment goes up, deposit interest rates may stay low.In January of 2005, the unemployment rate was 5.20% and the national average interest for deposits was 2.63%, according to MRI, a research firm in San Anselmo, Calif. In March of 2007, the unemployment rate declined to 4.20%, and the national average interest rate for deposits increased to 4.25%.The pattern repeated in September of 2009, when the unemployment rate increased to 9.80% and the national average interest rate for deposits declined to 1.55%.“Although there may be other factors that affect deposit interest rates, such as inflation, these factors did not have a major impact on deposit interest rates over the last five years,” said Dan Geller, executive vice president at MRI. “Therefore, assuming that there will not be any major change in the inflation index, it is very likely that deposit interest rates will not go up until the unemployment rate will go down.”As of late, the latest numbers from bankrate.com show that credit unions are still outpacing banks nationwide in six month- and one-year certificates of deposit.–[email protected]