Initial unemployment claims increased by 8,000 last week

In the week ending January 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 480,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 472,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on February 4. The four-week moving average was 468,750, an increase of 11,750 from the previous week's revised average of 457,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending January 23, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.5 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending January 23 was 4,602,000, an increase of 2,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,600,000. The four-week moving average was 4,617,500, a decrease of 51,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,668,750.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.362 million.  

Unadjusted data: The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 530,405 in the week ending January 30, an increase of 28,234 from the previous week. There were 682,176 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.4 percent during the week ending January 23, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming unemployment insurance benefits in state programs totaled 5,665,141, an increase of 62,784 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 4.3 percent and the volume was 5,806,901.

Extended benefits were available in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, 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 January 16.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 1,451 in the week ending January 23, a decrease of 499 from the prior week. There were 1,858 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 554 from the preceding week.

There were 26,167 former federal civilian employees claiming unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending January 16, a decrease of 59 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 35,777, a decrease of 2,059 from the prior week.

States reported 5,632,219 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending January 16, an increase of 281,442 from the prior week. There were 1,839,758 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 January 16 were in Alaska (7.3 percent), Oregon (6.6), Pennsylvania (6.5), Idaho (6.4), Wisconsin (6.3), Montana (6.2), Michigan (6.0), Nevada (5.7), Connecticut (5.3), North Carolina (5.3) and Washington (5.3).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending January 23 were in Oregon (+4,336), Puerto Rico (+2,439) and Hawaii (+18), while the largest decreases were in California (-22,674), Michigan (-11,757), North Carolina (-9,546), Georgia (-7,588) and Missouri (-7,577).