National

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report for Week Ending March 29, 2012


Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 29, 2012.  Note: This week’s release reflects the annual revision to the weekly unemployment claims seasonal adjustment factors. The seasonal adjustment factors used for the UI Weekly Claims data from 2007 forward, along with the resulting seasonally adjusted values for initial claims and continuing claims, have been revised. These revised historical values, as well as the seasonal adjustment factors that will be used through calendar year 2012, can be accessed at the bottom of the following link: http://www.oui.doleta.gov/press/2012/032911.asp

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending March 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 359,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 364,000. The 4-week moving average was 365,000, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 368,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending March 17, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week’s revised rate of 2.7 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 17 was 3,340,000, a decrease of 41,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,381,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,387,750, a decrease of 21,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,409,500.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 319,349 in the week ending March 24, a decrease of 33 from the previous week. There were 357,457 initial claims in the comparable week in 2011.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent during the week ending March 17, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.0 percent. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,683,943, a decrease of 129,932 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.3 percent and the volume was 4,131,066.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending March 10 was 7,153,252, a decrease of 131,488 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, Maryland, Massachusetts, 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 March 10.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,147 in the week ending March 17, a decrease of 69 from the prior week. There were 2,435 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 73 from the preceding week.

There were 25,433 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 10, a decrease of 295 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 41,720, an increase of 364 from the prior week.

States reported 2,809,365 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending March 10, a decrease of 43,018 from the prior week. There were 3,588,816 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 March 10 were in Alaska (6.0), Pennsylvania (4.6), Rhode Island (4.4), Montana (4.3), Oregon (4.3), Wisconsin (4.3), New Jersey (4.2), Puerto Rico (4.2), Idaho (4.1), Connecticut (4.0), Illinois (4.0), and Michigan (4.0).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 17 were in Florida (+1,876), Hawaii (+469), Mississippi (+405), New Mexico (+292), and Iowa (+278), while the largest decreases were in New York (-3,103), Texas (-1,787), Pennsylvania (-1,606), California (-1,603), and Ohio (-1,419). 

Source: dol.gov


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