Initial U.S. unemployment claims decreased by 5,000 last week

In the week ending March 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 457,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 462,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on March 18. The four-week moving average was 471,250, a decrease of 4,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 475,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending March 6, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.5 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 6 was 4,579,000, an increase of 12,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,567,000. The four-week moving average was 4,575,250, a decrease of 8,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,583,250.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.166 million.  

Unadjusted data: The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 432,166 in the week ending March 13, a decrease of 28,083 from the previous week. There were 601,163 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.1 percent during the week ending March 6, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming unemployment insurance benefits in state programs totaled 5,375,836, a decrease of 163,482 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 4.7 percent and the volume was 6,357,202.

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, Missouri, Montana, 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 February 27.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 1,357 in the week ending March 6, an increase of 67 from the prior week. There were 2,383 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 48 from the preceding week.

There were 23,693 former federal civilian employees claiming unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending February 27, an increase of 738 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 36,501, a decrease of 84 from the prior week.

States reported 5,888,048 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending February 27, an increase of 360,123 from the prior week. There were 2,086,682 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 February 27 were in Alaska (7.2 percent), Oregon (6.3), Pennsylvania (6.3), Idaho (6.2), Montana (6.1), Wisconsin (6.1), Puerto Rico (6.0), Michigan (5.6), Nevada (5.6), North Carolina (5.4) and Rhode Island (5.4).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 6 were in North Carolina (+5,100), Illinois (+2,461), Oregon (+1,542), Ohio (+1,301) and Alabama (+1,274), while the largest decreases were in New York (-10,929), California (-7,235), Connecticut (-2,082), Kentucky (-1,950) and West Virginia (-827).