November Nationwide SSDI Awards: Lowest Month Since 2004

The number of SSDI awards issued for November 2018 was 47,715, which is the lowest monthly total reported since July 2004. It’s also significantly lower than the first 10 months of 2018, which averaged 63,198 awards per month. Factors in the awards decline may include lower staffing, fewer applications, lower award rates, weather interruptions, limited overtime, and the Thanksgiving holiday.  

The most current quarterly employment data shows the SSA lost 589 staff in Q2 2018, down to 60,898 from 61,487, as of June 30, 2018. The number of administrative law judges also declined by 18, down to 1,662 ALJs from 1,680 the prior quarter.