Initial U.S. jobless claims rose by 20,000 last week

In the week ending October 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 457,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 437,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on November 4. The four-week moving average was 456,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised average of 454,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.4 percent for the week ending October 23, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.5 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 23 was 4,340,000, a decrease of 42,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,382,000. The four-week moving average was 4,410,750, a decrease of 42,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,453,500.

Unadjusted data: The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 419,351 in the week ending October 30, an increase of 10,881 from the previous week. There were 482,612 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.0 percent during the week ending October 23, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming unemployment insurance benefits in state programs totaled 3,719,209, a decrease of 45,084 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.7 percent and the volume was 4,932,036.

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 October 16.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 3,802 in the week ending October 23, a decrease of 1,638 from the prior week. There were 2,593 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 5 from the preceding week.

There were 45,159 former federal civilian employees claiming unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending October 16, an increase of 7,853 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 58,829, an increase of 17,143 from the prior week.

States reported 3,978,374 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending October 16, an increase of 198,579 from the prior week. There were 3,496,960 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 October 16 were in Puerto Rico (5.8 percent), Alaska (5.0), California (4.1), Oregon (4.1), Pennsylvania (4.1), New Jersey (3.9), Nevada (3.7), Connecticut (3.6), Wisconsin (3.6), Arkansas (3.5) and South Carolina (3.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending October 23 were in California (+3,755), Illinois (+3,710), Pennsylvania (+2,256), Georgia (+1,593) and Michigan (+1,480), while the largest decreases were in Kentucky (-1,699), Florida (-1,615), Puerto Rico (-1,153), Indiana (-1,095) and Alabama (-1,087).