In the week ending May 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 453,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 463,000, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on June 3. The four-week moving average was 459,000, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average of 457,250.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.6 percent for the week ending May 22, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.6 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 22 was 4,666,000, an increase of 31,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,635,000. The four-week moving average was 4,654,000, an increase of 9,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,644,250.
The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.124 million.
Unadjusted data: The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 410,302 in the week ending May 29, an increase of 3,427 from the previous week. There were 500,380 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.4 percent during the week ending May 22, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming unemployment insurance benefits in state programs totaled 4,330,107, a decrease of 77,692 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 4.5 percent and the volume was 6,033,293.
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 May 15.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 1,584 in the week ending May 22, an increase of 103 from the prior week. There were 2,604 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 232 from the preceding week.
There were 17,057 former federal civilian employees claiming unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending May 15, a decrease of 878 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 36,960, an increase of 589 from the prior week.
States reported 5,081,015 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending May 15, an increase of 21,172 from the prior week. There were 2,347,218 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 May 15 were in Puerto Rico (5.9 percent), Alaska (5.8), Oregon (5.2), Nevada (4.8), California (4.6), Pennsylvania (4.5), Wisconsin (4.4), North Carolina (4.3), Connecticut (4.1), Michigan (4.0), Montana (4.0), New Jersey (4.0), Rhode Island (4.0) and South Carolina (4.0).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 22 were in New York (+1,556), Missouri (+1,189), Oklahoma (+682), Oregon (+647) and Iowa (+525), while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-2,269), Tennessee (-1,808), Pennsylvania (-1,597), Georgia (-1,544) and California (-1,206).
