Initial U.S. jobless claims decreased by 19,000 last week

In the week ending June 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 457,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 476,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on June 24. The four-week moving average was 462,750, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 464,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending June 12, a decrease of 0.1 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 12 was 4,548,000, a decrease of 45,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,593,000. The four-week moving average was 4,586,500, a decrease of 21,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,608,250.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.084 million. 

Unadjusted data: The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 421,104 in the week ending June 19, a decrease of 23,066 from the previous week. There were 568,552 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.3 percent during the week ending June 12, 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 4,284,153, a decrease of 24,408 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 4.6 percent and the volume was 6,113,017.

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, 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 June 5.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 2,147 in the week ending June 12, an increase of 543 from the prior week. There were 2,499 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 314 from the preceding week.

There were 17,837 former federal civilian employees claiming unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending June 5, an increase of 1,111 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 36,923, an increase of 895 from the prior week.

States reported 4,733,012 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending June 5, a decrease of 71,018 from the prior week. There were 2,491,318 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 5 were in Puerto Rico (6.3 percent), Oregon (5.2), Alaska (5.1), Nevada (4.5), Pennsylvania (4.5), California (4.4), Wisconsin (4.2), Connecticut (4.1), North Carolina (4.1) and Washington (4.0).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending June 12 were in California (+17,572), Pennsylvania (+5,266), Florida (+4,958), Texas (+2,971) and Illinois (+2,481), while the largest decreases were in New Mexico (-708), Kansas (-596), Mississippi (-522), Louisiana (-286) and Alabama (-251).