Initial U.S. jobless claims declined by 20,000 last week

In the week ending October 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 512,000, a decrease of 20,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 532,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on November 5. The four-week moving average was 523,750, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average of 526,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.4 percent for the week ending October 24, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.4 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 24 was 5,749,000, a decrease of 68,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 5,817,000. The four-week moving average was 5,886,250, a decrease of 79,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 5,965,750.  

Unadjusted data: The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 480,178 in the week ending October 31, a decrease of 14,216 from the previous week. There were 466,341 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.7 percent during the week ending October 24, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming unemployment insurance benefits in state programs totaled 4,915,719, a decrease of 69,231 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5 percent and the volume was 3,310,892.

Extended benefits were available in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin during the week ending October 17.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 2,069 in the week ending October 24, an increase of 174 from the prior week. There were 2,507 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 90 from the preceding week.

There were 21,660 former Federal civilian employees claiming unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending October 17, an increase of 443 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 33,900, an increase of 819 from the prior week.

States reported 3,459,148 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending October 17, an increase of 90,239 from the prior week. There were 836,629 claimants in the comparable week in 2008. EUC weekly claims include both first and second tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending October 17 were in Puerto Rico (6.4 percent), Nevada (5.4), Oregon (5.4), California (4.9), Pennsylvania (4.9), Arkansas (4.8), Wisconsin (4.8), Michigan (4.7), Alaska (4.6), North Carolina (4.6) and South Carolina (4.6).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending October 24 were in California (+14,394), North Carolina (+3,190), Oregon (+3,131), Georgia (+2,549) and New York (+2,287), while the largest decreases were in Indiana (-2,346), Puerto Rico (-1,479), Iowa (-969), Nevada (-605) and Florida (-544).