EconoIndicators

Jobless Claims At a Glance

• Initial Claims: 554,000
• Change from Last Week: Down 21,000
• 4-Week Moving Average: 543,750
• Insured Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
• Insured Unemployment: 4,384,000

All numbers seasonally adjusted.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT
          SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending Dec. 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 554,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 575,000. The 4-week moving average was 543,750, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 541,000.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.3 percent for the week ending Dec. 6, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.3 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Dec. 6 was 4,384,000, a decrease of 47,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,431,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,226,000, an increase of 92,000 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,134,000.  
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 626,943 in the week ending Dec. 13, a decrease of 132,588 from the previous week. There were 393,042 initial claims in the comparable week in 2007.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.3 percent during the week ending Dec. 6, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 4,375,290, a decrease of 118,191 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.0 percent and the volume was 2,701,259.
Extended benefits were available in North Carolina and Rhode Island during the week ending Nov. 29.
Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 2,055 in the week ending Dec. 6, an increase of 390 from the prior week. There were 2,090 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 839 from the preceding week.
There were 18,179 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Nov. 29, an increase of 2,524 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 26,307, an increase of 4,021 from the prior week.
States reported 933,652 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Nov. 29, an increase of 258,601 from the prior week.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Nov. 29 were in Oregon (5.6 percent), Alaska (5.3), Puerto Rico (5.2), Michigan (5.0), Wisconsin (4.8), Idaho (4.7), South Carolina (4.6), California (4.5), Nevada (4.5), Arkansas (4.4), and Pennsylvania (4.4).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Dec. 6 were in North Carolina (+26,596), California (+22,963), Georgia (+20,237), Pennsylvania (+20,090), and Tennessee (+12,170), while the largest decreases were in Wisconsin (-8,593), Iowa (-3,424), North Dakota (-895), Arkansas (-514), and Idaho (-320).

Source: Employment and Training Administration