Initial U.S. jobless claims decreased by 21,000 last week

RP news wires
Tags: talent management, business management

In the week ending July 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 454,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 475,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on July 8. The four-week moving average was 466,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 467,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.4 percent for the week ending June 26, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.6 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending June 26 was 4,413,000, a decrease of 224,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,637,000. The four-week moving average was 4,554,000, a decrease of 18,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,572,750.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.064 million. 

Unadjusted data:The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 463,560 in the week ending July 3, an increase of 22,560 from the previous week. There were 581,145 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.3 percent during the week ending June 26, 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 4,294,188, a decrease of 36,647 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 4.5 percent and the volume was 6,061,619.

Extended benefits were available in Alaska, Connecticut, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington during the week ending June 19.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 2,359 in the week ending June 26, an increase of 276 from the prior week. There were 2,686 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 305 from the preceding week.

There were 18,964 former federal civilian employees claiming unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending June 19, an increase of 873 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 37,915, an increase of 3,581 from the prior week.

States reported 4,147,551 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending June 19, a decrease of 367,948 from the prior week. There were 2,586,598 claimants in the comparable week in 2009. EUC weekly claims include first-, second-, third- and fourth-tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending June 19 were in Puerto Rico (6.7 percent), Oregon (4.9), Alaska (4.8), Pennsylvania (4.7), Nevada (4.5), California (4.3), Wisconsin (4.2), Connecticut (4.0), North Carolina (3.9) and South Carolina (3.9).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending June 26 were in New Jersey (+7,951), Massachusetts (+4,681), New York (+3,473), Florida (+2,838) and Connecticut (+2,560), while the largest decreases were in Pennsylvania (-2,841), Tennessee (-1,375), Illinois (-1,346), Iowa (-1,230) and Alabama (-869).