Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–May 23, 2013.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending May 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 340,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 363,000. The 4-week moving average was 339,500, a decrease of 500 from the previous week’s revised average of 340,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending May 11, unchanged from the prior week’s revised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 11 was 2,912,000, a decrease of 112,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,024,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,995,250, a decrease of 23,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,019,000.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 301,056 in the week ending May 18, a decrease of 19,767 from the previous week. There were 330,427 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent during the week ending May 11, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week’s unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,766,163, a decrease of 124,662 from the preceding week’s revised level of 2,890,825. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5 percent and the volume was 3,124,324.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending May 4 was 4,745,266, a decrease of 98,540 from the previous week. There were 6,168,434 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.

Extended Benefits were available only in Alaska during the week ending May 4.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,468 in the week ending May 11, an increase of 47 from the prior week. There were 2,124 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 195 from the preceding week.

There were 18,353 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending May 4, a decrease of 136 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 36,141, a decrease of 830 from the prior week.

States reported 1,776,686 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending May 4, a decrease of 15,415 from the prior week. There were 2,630,544 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2012. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending May 4 were in Alaska (5.0), Puerto Rico (4.4), California (3.3), New Jersey (3.2), Connecticut (3.1), New Mexico (3.1), Pennsylvania (3.0), Nevada (2.9), Oregon (2.9) Illinois (2.8), and Wisconsin (2.8).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 11 were in California (+15,060), North Carolina (+1,826), Mississippi (+1,341), Florida (+1,329), and Georgia (+1,118), while the largest decreases were in New Mexico (-754), Oregon (-751), New Jersey (-747), Kentucky (-683), and Tennessee (-488).

Source: dol.gov