Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—October 9, 2014.
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending October 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 287,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 287,000 to 288,000. The 4-week moving average was 287,750, a decrease of 7,250 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since February 4, 2006 when it was 286,500. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 294,750 to 295,000. 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 September 27, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending September 27 was 2,381,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for insured unemployment since May 27, 2006 when it was 2,381,000. The previous week’s level was revised up 4,000 from 2,398,000 to 2,402,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,414,250, a decrease of 27,750 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since July 1, 2006 when it was 2,406,250. The previous week’s average was revised up by 750 from 2,441,250 to 2,442,000.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 257,736 in the week ending October 4, an increase of 30,056 (or 13.2 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 30,838 (or 13.5 percent) from the previous week. There were 335,937 initial claims in the comparable week in 2013. The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.5 percent during the week ending September 27, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,031,232, a decrease of 39,590 (or -1.9 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 21,621 (or -1.0 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.9 percent and the volume was 2,476,262.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending September 20 was 2,127,499, a decrease of 44,363 from the previous week. There were 4,010,587 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2013. No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending September 20.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,080 in the week ending September 27, an increase of 48 from the prior week. There were 1,634 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 245 from the preceding week. There were 15,923 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending September 20, a decrease of 70 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 24,469, a decrease of 471 from the prior week.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending September 20 were in Puerto Rico (3.5), Alaska (2.9), New Jersey (2.7), Virgin Islands (2.7), California (2.4), Connecticut (2.4), Nevada (2.3), Pennsylvania (2.2), Massachusetts (2.0), Illinois (1.9), Maryland (1.9), and Rhode Island (1.9).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending September 27 were in New Jersey (+615), Indiana (+482), Washington (+345), Idaho (+340), and Georgia (+148), while the largest decreases were in California (-7,715), Michigan (-2,082), New York (-719), Texas (-635), and Florida (-517).
Source: dol.gov
