Initial U.S. jobless claims decreased by 34,000 last week

In the week ending November 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 407,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 441,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on November 24. The four-week moving average was 436,000, a decrease of 7,500 from the previous week's revised average of 443,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.3 percent for the week ending November 13, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.4 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 13 was 4,182,000, a decrease of 142,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,324,000. The four-week moving average was 4,309,000, a decrease of 51,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,360,500.

Unadjusted data: The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 462,027 in the week ending November 20, an increase of 52,490 from the previous week. There were 542,492 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.1 percent during the week ending November 13, 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 3,839,033, an increase of 103,105 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.9 percent and the volume was 5,081,961.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending November 6 was 8,532,502.

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 November 6.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 3,301 in the week ending November 13, a decrease of 72 from the prior week. There were 2,194 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 330 from the preceding week.

There were 43,847 former federal civilian employees claiming unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending November 6, a decrease of 2,675 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 42,006, a decrease of 713 from the prior week.

States reported 3,801,294 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending November 6, a decrease of 160,191 from the prior week. There were 3,583,412 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 November 6 were in Puerto Rico (5.8 percent), Alaska (5.7), Oregon (4.3), Pennsylvania (4.0), California (3.9), Nevada (3.9), New Jersey (3.9), Arkansas (3.6), Connecticut (3.6), South Carolina (3.5) and Wisconsin (3.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending November 13 were in Indiana (+2,094), Michigan (+985), Montana (+159), Louisiana (+67) and North Dakota (+38), while the largest decreases were in California (-5,044), Pennsylvania (-4,494), North Carolina (-2,685), Texas (-2,632) and Wisconsin (-2,416).