Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 1, 2012.
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending February 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 351,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 353,000. The 4-week moving average was 354,000, a decrease of 5,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 359,500.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.7 percent for the week ending February 18, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 18, was 3,402,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,404,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,444,000, a decrease of 12,250 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,456,250.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 331,906 in the week ending February 25, a decrease of 14,717 from the previous week. There were 353,797 initial claims in the comparable week in 2011.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.1 percent during the week ending February 18, 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 3,878,695, a decrease of 131,789 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.5 percent and the volume was 4,344,862.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending February 11 was 7,498,613, an increase of 11,933 from the previous week.
Extended benefits were available in Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin during the week ending February 11.
Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,269 in the week ending February 18, a decrease of 114 from the prior week. There were 2,462 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 58 from the preceding week.
There were 28,680 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending February 11, a decrease of 124 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 42,170, an increase of 149 from the prior week.
States reported 2,904,556 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending February 11, an increase of 1,347 from the prior week. There were 3,653,267 claimants in the comparable week in 2011. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 11 were in Alaska (6.5), Pennsylvania (4.9), Montana (4.7), Rhode Island (4.6), Wisconsin (4.6), Idaho (4.5), Oregon (4.5), Illinois (4.3), New Jersey (4.3), and Puerto Rico (4.3).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 18 were in Iowa (+438), North Carolina (+285), New Mexico (+81), Missouri (+56), and Washington (+21), while the largest decreases were in Florida (-2,121), Illinois (-1,772), Massachusetts (-1,537), California (-1,452),
and Michigan (-1,280).
Source: dol.gov
