Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—April 10, 2014.
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending April 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 300,000, a decrease of 32,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The last time initial claims were this low was May 12, 2007 when they were 297,000. The previous week’s level was revised up by 6,000 from 326,000 to 332,000. The 4-week moving average was 316,250, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 1,500 from 319,500 to 321,000.
There were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent for the week ending March 29, a decrease of 0.1 from the previous week’s unrevised rate of 2.2 percent. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 29 was 2,776,000, a decrease of 62,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The last time insured unemployment was this low was January 19, 2008 when it was 2,770,000. The previous week’s level was revised up 2,000 from 2,836,000 to 2,838,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,824,250, a decrease of 18,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The last time this average was this low was February 9, 2008 when it was 2,817,750. The previous week’s average was revised up by 500 from 2,842,250 to 2,842,750.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 298,393 in the week ending April 5, an increase of 3,531 (or 1.2 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 34,865 (or 11.8 percent) from the previous week. There were 356,935 initial claims in the comparable week in 2013.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent during the week ending March 29, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,969,994, a decrease of 120,671 (or -3.9) percent from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 53,923 (or -1.7 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 2.6 percent and the volume was 3,286,211.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending March 22 was 3,164,203, a decrease of 37,301 from the previous week. There were 5,270,782 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2013.
No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending March 22.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,030 in the week ending March 29, an increase of 34 from the prior week. There were 1,749 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 53 from the preceding week.
There were 18,171 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 22, a decrease of 73 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 27,977, an increase of 679 from the prior week.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 22 were in Alaska (5.2), New Jersey (3.9), Connecticut (3.7), California (3.6), Rhode Island (3.6), Illinois (3.5), Pennsylvania (3.5), Puerto Rico (3.4), Massachusetts (3.2), Montana (3.1), Wisconsin (3.1), and Maine (3.0).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 29 were in California (+17,626), Oregon (+1,851), Ohio (+1,200), Kentucky (+1,119), and Illinois (+941), while the largest decreases were in Pennsylvania (-2,007), Texas (-1,821), Missouri (-889), New Jersey (-774), and Puerto Rico (-538).
Source: dol.gov
