Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—February 23, 2017
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending February 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 244,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 1,000 from 239,000 to 238,000. The 4-week moving average was 241,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since July 21, 1973 when it was 239,500. The previous week’s average was revised down by 250 from 245,250 to 245,000.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.5 percent for the week ending February 11, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 11 was 2,060,000, a decrease of 17,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up 1,000 from 2,076,000 to 2,077,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,069,750, a decrease of 10,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 2,080,250 to 2,080,500.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 240,527 in the week ending February 18, a decrease of 5,359 (or -2.2 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 10,494 (or -4.3 percent) from the previous week. There were 248,870 initial claims in the comparable week in 2016.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.8 percent during the week ending February 11, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,486,286, an increase of 21,436 (or 0.9 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 41,531 (or 1.7 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.9 percent and the volume was 2,612,427.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending February 4 was 2,508,785, a decrease of 18,035 from the previous week. There were 2,707,925 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2016. No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending February 4.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 888 in the week ending February 11, a decrease of 196 from the prior week. There were 798 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 185 from the preceding week.
There were 14,759 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending February 4, an increase of 985 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 11,857, a decrease of 185 from the prior week.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 4 were in Alaska (4.5), Montana (3.1), New Jersey (3.1), Connecticut (2.9), Rhode Island (2.8), Illinois (2.7), Massachusetts (2.7), Pennsylvania (2.7), Puerto Rico (2.7), and California (2.6).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 11 were in California (+4,213), Washington (+1,561), Oregon (+431), Virginia (+227), and Montana (+94), while the largest decreases were in Pennsylvania (-2,556), New Jersey (-2,301), New York (-1,410), Illinois (-1,353), and Michigan (-1,332).
Source: www.dol.gov
