EconoIndicators

Jobless Claims At a Glance

• Initial Claims: 467,000
• Change from Last Week: Down 24,000
• 4-Week Moving Average: 525,750
• Insured Unemployment Rate: 3.4%
• Insured Unemployment: 4,611,000

All numbers seasonally adjusted.

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UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT
          SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending Jan. 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 467,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 491,000. The 4-week moving average was 525,750, a decrease of 27,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 552,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.4 percent for the week ending Dec. 27, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.4 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Dec. 27 was 4,611,000, an increase of 101,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,510,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,470,000, an increase of 45,000 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,425,000.  
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 726,420 in the week ending Jan. 3, an increase of 9,420 from the previous week. There were 521,311 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.0 percent during the week ending Dec. 27, an increase of 0.6 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 5,316,124, an increase of 743,487 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5 percent and the volume was 3,273,400.
Extended benefits were available in North Carolina, Oregon, and Rhode Island during the week ending Dec. 20.
Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,420 in the week ending Dec. 27, a decrease of 193 from the prior week. There were 1,116 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 841 from the preceding week.
There were 19,144 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Dec. 20, an increase of 199 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 24,088, a decrease of 1,410 from the prior week.
States reported 1,922,497 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Dec. 20, an increase of 359,728 from the prior week.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Dec. 20 were in Oregon (6.1 percent), Idaho (5.3), Michigan (5.2), Nevada (5.1), Puerto Rico (5.0), Pennsylvania (4.7), Wisconsin (4.7), South Carolina (4.4), Arkansas (4.3), Indiana (4.2), New Jersey (4.2), and Washington (4.2).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Dec. 27 were in Wisconsin (+16,081), Michigan (+10,524), Kansas (+10,485), Massachusetts (+10,265), and New Jersey (+7,330), while the largest decreases were in Texas (-13,232), California (-9,702), Florida (-8,566), Virginia (-5,943), and South Carolina (-4,678).

Source: Employment and Training Administration