EconoIndicators

Jobless Claims At a Glance

• Initial Claims: 479,000
• Change from Last Week: Unchanged
• 4-Week Moving Average: 475,500
• Insured Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
• Insured Unemployment: 3,715,000

All numbers seasonally adjusted.

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UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT
          SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending Oct. 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 479,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised figure of 479,000. The 4-week moving average was 475,500, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 480,500.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.8 percent for the week ending Oct. 18, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 2.8 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Oct. 18 was 3,715,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,727,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,709,500, an increase of 28,000 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,681,500.  
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 443,728 in the week ending Oct. 25, an increase of 27,617 from the previous week. There were 303,357 initial claims in the comparable week in 2007.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent during the week ending Oct. 18, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,228,606, an increase of 94,217 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 1.7 percent and the volume was 2,241,942.
Extended benefits were available in Alaska, North Carolina, and Rhode Island during the week ending Oct 11.
Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,363 in the week ending Oct. 18, a decrease of 290 from the prior week. There were 1,512 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 389 from the preceding week.
There were 14,006 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Oct. 11, an increase of 471 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 22,890, an increase of 543 from the prior week.
States reported 978,142 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Oct. 11, a decrease of 117,036 from the prior week.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Oct. 11 were in Puerto Rico (5.2 percent), Michigan (3.5), Nevada (3.4), Oregon (3.4), California (3.1), New Jersey (3.1), South Carolina (3.1), Arkansas (3.0), Pennsylvania (3.0), and North Carolina (2.8).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Oct. 18 were in Tennessee (+1,956), Oregon (+1,802), Indiana (+1,297), Virginia (+898), and Florida (+543), while the largest decreases were in New York (-6,080), Michigan (-5,894), Illinois (-3,795), Ohio (-2,923), and Kentucky (-2,494).

Source: Employment and Training Administration