Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—May 21, 2014.
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending May 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 326,000, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 297,000 to 298,000. The 4-week moving average was 322,500, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 323,250 to 323,500.
There were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.0 percent for the week ending May 10, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 10 was 2,653,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for insured unemployment since December 1, 2007 when it was 2,639,000. The previous week’s level was revised down by 1,000 from 2,667,000 to 2,666,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,689,000, a decrease of 5,250 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since December 15, 2007 when it was 2,670,500. The previous week’s average was revised down by 250 from 2,694,500 to 2,694,250.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 286,590 in the week ending May 17, an increase of 15,638 (or 5.8 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 8,644 (or -3.2 percent) from the previous week. There were 303,357 initial claims in the comparable week in 2013.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent during the week ending May 10, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,499,378, a decrease of 59,793 (or -2.3 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 47,984 (or -1.9 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 2.1 percent and the volume was 2,769,495.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending May 3 was 2,620,476, a decrease of 84,543 from the previous week. There were 4,738,083 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 May 3.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 915 in the week ending May 10, a decrease of 74 from the prior week. There were 1,563 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 170 from the preceding week.
There were 13,744 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending May 3, a decrease of 279 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 25,132, a decrease of 164 from the prior week.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending May 3 were in Alaska (4.7), New Jersey (3.1), Puerto Rico (3.1), California (3.0), Connecticut (2.8), Pennsylvania (2.8), Nevada (2.7), Illinois (2.6), Virgin Islands (2.6), and Massachusetts (2.4).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 10 were in Mississippi (+1,183), Georgia +1,147), Tennessee (+730), Minnesota (+587), and North Carolina (+324), while the largest decreases were in California (-7,651), Massachusetts (-2,316), Pennsylvania (-1,408), New York (-1,391), and Florida (-1,230).
Source: dol.gov
