Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–February 21, 2013.
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending February 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 362,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 342,000. The 4-week moving average was 360,750, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 352,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending February 9, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 9 was 3,148,000, an increase of 11,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,137,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,186,250, a decrease of 6,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,193,000.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 346,428 in the week ending February 16, a decrease of -14,758 from the previous week. There were 346,659 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.8 percent during the week ending February 9, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week’s revised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,648,864, a decrease of 18,188 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,667,052. A year earlier, the rate was 3.2 percent and the volume was 4,010,489.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending February 2 was 5,610,327, a decrease of 307,848 from the previous week. There were 7,486,681 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.
Extended Benefits were not available in any state during the week ending February 2.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,419 in the week ending February 9, a decrease of 125 from the prior week. There were 2,524 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 171 from the preceding week.
There were 22,279 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending February 2, a decrease of 1,243 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 39,610, a decrease of 1,049 from the prior week.
States reported 1,849,056 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending February 2, a decrease of 232,319 from the prior week. There were 2,903,219 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 February 2 were in Alaska (6.4), Puerto Rico (4.5), Montana (4.4), Pennsylvania (4.3), New Jersey (4.2), Wisconsin (4.1), Idaho (4.0), Connecticut (3.9), Rhode Island (3.9), and Oregon (3.8).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 9 were in Kansas (+2,344), Puerto Rico (+492), Virginia (+465), Indiana (+205), and Rhode Island (+176), while the largest decreases were in California (-4,830), New York (-4,401), Oregon (-2,211), Pennsylvania (-2,020), and Wisconsin (-1,670).
Source: dol.gov
