In the week ending September 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 451,000, a decrease of 27,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 478,000, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on September 9. The four-week moving average was 477,750, a decrease of 9,250 from the previous week's revised average of 487,000.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending August 28, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.5 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 28 was 4,478,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,480,000. The four-week moving average was 4,488,000, a decrease of 3,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,491,250.
The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 4.986 million.
Unadjusted data: The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 376,558 in the week ending September 4, a decrease of 6,476 from the previous week. There were 466,277 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.2 percent during the week ending August 28, 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 4,052,572, a decrease of 73,554 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 4.1 percent and the volume was 5,437,541.
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 Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin during the week ending August 21.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 4,720 in the week ending August 28, an increase of 788 from the prior week. There were 2,648 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 71 from the preceding week.
There were 25,031 former federal civilian employees claiming unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending August 21, an increase of 239 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 40,830, a decrease of 323 from the prior week.
States reported 4,510,645 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending August 21, a decrease of 35,365 from the prior week. There were 3,156,763 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 August 21 were in Puerto Rico (5.9 percent), New Jersey (4.6), Pennsylvania (4.6), Oregon (4.5), California (4.4), Connecticut (4.3), Alaska (4.1), Nevada (4.1), Rhode Island (4.0) and Wisconsin (3.9).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 28 were in New York (+4,891), Florida (+1,886), Nevada (+1,052), Oregon (+828) and Texas (+742), while the largest decreases were in California (-4,127), Illinois (-2,114), Iowa (-813), Michigan (-599) and Maryland (-550).