Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—February 26, 2015.
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending February 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 313,000, an increase of 31,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 1,000 from 283,000 to 282,000. The 4-week moving average was 294,500, an increase of 11,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 250 from 283,250 to 283,000.
There were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.8 percent for the week ending February 14, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 14 was 2,401,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 3,000 from 2,425,000 to 2,422,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,399,000, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 750 from 2,398,000 to 2,397,250.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 280,000 in the week ending February 21, an increase of 2,096 (or 0.8 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 25,110 (or -9.0 percent) from the previous week. There were 312,665 initial claims in the comparable week in 2014. The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent during the week ending February 14, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,749,233, a decrease of 60,701 (or -2.2 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 36,335 (or -1.3 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 2.6 percent and the volume was 3,367,237. The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending February 7 was 2,866,747, an increase of 12,469 from the previous week. There were 3,486,049 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2014.
No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending February 7.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,020 in the week ending February 14, an increase of 21 from the prior week. There were 1,446 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 324 from the preceding week.
There were 17,177 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending February 7, an increase of 67 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 23,787, an increase of 160 from the prior week.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 7 were in Alaska (4.6), New Jersey (3.7), Connecticut (3.4), Rhode Island (3.4), Massachusetts (3.2), Montana (3.2), Pennsylvania (3.2), Puerto Rico (3.0), California (2.9), Illinois (2.9), and Wisconsin (2.9).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 14 were in Missouri (+1,026), Oklahoma (+674), Arkansas (+61), and the Washington (+50), while the largest decreases were in California (-14,135), Pennsylvania (-4,151), New York (-3,792), Illinois (-2,953), and Texas (-2,419).
Source: dol.gov
