Initial U.S. unemployment claims increased by 13,000 last week

RP news wires

In the week ending October 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 462,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 449,000, the U.S. Department of Labor announced on October 14. The four-week moving average was 459,000, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average of 456,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending October 2, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate of 3.6 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 2 was 4,399,000, a decrease of 112,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,511,000. The four-week moving average was 4,488,500, a decrease of 34,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,523,000.

Unadjusted data:The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 449,568 in the week ending October 9, an increase of 75,914 from the previous week. There were 508,659 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent during the week ending October 2, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,668,851, a decrease of 111,184 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.8 percent and the volume was 4,953,947.

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 September 25.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 4,844 in the week ending October 2, an increase of 1,247 from the prior week. There were 2,694 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 150 from the preceding week.

There were 32,023 former federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending September 25, an increase of 2,343 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 41,940, an increase of 1,167 from the prior week.

States reported 3,888,001 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending September 25, a decrease of 235,512 from the prior week. There were 3,387,838 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 September 25 were in Puerto Rico (6.3 percent), Alaska (4.5), California (4.0), Nevada (4.0), Oregon (4.0), Pennsylvania (4.0), New Jersey (3.9), Connecticut (3.6), Illinois (3.6) and South Carolina (3.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending October 2 were in Pennsylvania (+2,869), New Jersey (+2,132), Georgia (+1,361), Indiana (+833) and Washington (+677), while the largest decreases were in California (-6,131), Florida (-5,357), Iowa (-817), Illinois (-746) and Puerto Rico (-578).

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