In the week ending October 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 452,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 475,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on October 21. The four-week moving average was 458,000, a decrease of 4,250 from the previous week's revised average of 462,250.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending October 9, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.5 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 9 was 4,441,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,450,000. The four-week moving average was 4,478,000, a decrease of 23,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,501,250.
Unadjusted data: The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 391,737 in the week ending October 16, a decrease of 71,303 from the previous week. There were 460,269 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent during the week ending October 9, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming unemployment insurance benefits in state programs totaled 3,686,287, a decrease of 25,353 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.7 percent and the volume was 4,916,574.
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 2.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 10,756 in the week ending October 9, an increase of 5,912 from the prior week. There were 3,158 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 463 from the preceding week.
There were 32,134 former federal civilian employees claiming unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending October 2, an increase of 118 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 41,040, a decrease of 901 from the prior week.
States reported 4,040,113 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending October 2, an increase of 152,112 from the prior week. There were 3,428,585 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 2 were in Puerto Rico (6.4 percent), Alaska (4.4), Nevada (4.0), California (3.9), New Jersey (3.9), Oregon (3.9), Pennsylvania (3.8), Connecticut (3.6), South Carolina (3.5) and Illinois (3.4).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending October 9 were in New York (+8,558), North Carolina (+8,470), California (+7,929), Florida (+7,229) and Pennsylvania (+5,682), while the largest decreases were in the Virgin Islands (-34) and Hawaii (-17).