Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–May 3, 2012.
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending April 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 365,000, a decrease of 27,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 392,000. The 4-week moving average was 383,500, an increase of 750 from the previous week’s revised average of 382,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending April 21, unchanged from the prior week.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 21 was 3,276,000, a decrease of 53,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,329,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,297,000, a decrease of 18,250 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,315,250.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 330,475 in the week ending April 28, a decrease of 40,158 from the previous week. There were 415,974 initial claims in the comparable week in 2011.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent during the week ending April 21, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 2.7. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,278,885, a decrease of 146,442 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.0 percent and the volume was 3,769,810.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending April 14 was 6,597,492, a decrease of 85,523 from the previous week.
Extended benefits were available in Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia during the week ending April 14.
Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,209 in the week ending April 21, an increase of 20 from the prior week. There were 2,425 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 76 from the preceding week.
There were 19,980 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending April 14, a decrease of 1,366 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 40,639, an increase of 67 from the prior week.
States reported 2,724,432 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending April 14, a decrease of 4,772 from the prior week. There were 3,447,542 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 April 14 were in Alaska (5.6), Puerto Rico (4.2), New Jersey (3.9), Oregon (3.9), Pennsylvania (3.9), California (3.8), Connecticut (3.5),Wisconsin (3.5), Illinois ( 3.4), and Rhode Island (3.4).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 21 were in New York (+15,467), Massachusetts (+4,336), Connecticut (+1,776), Puerto Rico (+1,264), and Rhode Island (+1,163), while the largest decreases were in New Jersey (-5,748), Pennsylvania (-3,080), Wisconsin (-1,841), Ohio (-1,798) and Alabama (-1,444).
Source: dol.gov
