In the week ending October 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 445,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 456,000, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on October 7. The four-week moving average was 455,750, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average of 458,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending September 25, 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 September 25 was 4,462,000, a decrease of 48,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,510,000. The four-week moving average was 4,510,750, a decrease of 27,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,538,500.
Unadjusted data:The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 371,004 in the week ending October 2, a decrease of 1,532 from the previous week. There were 451,860 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent during the week ending September 25, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming unemployment insurance benefits in state programs totaled 3,739,443, a decrease of 71,488 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.8 percent and the volume was 5,017,172.
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 18.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 3,597 in the week ending September 25, a decrease of 573 from the prior week. There were 2,844 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 33 from the preceding week.
There were 29,680 former federal civilian employees claiming unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending September 18, a decrease of 104 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 40,773, a decrease of 125 from the prior week.
States reported 4,123,513 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending September 18, an increase of 157,735 from the prior week. There were 3,358,689 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 18 were in Puerto Rico (6.2 percent), Alaska (4.1), California (4.1), Oregon (4.1), Nevada (4.0), Pennsylvania (4.0), New Jersey (3.9), Connecticut (3.6), Illinois (3.5) and South Carolina (3.5).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending September 25 were in California (+8,960), Florida (+687), Kentucky (+415), Puerto Rico (+302) and Iowa (+299), while the largest decreases were in New York (-3,703), Illinois (-2,381), Georgia (-2,314), North Carolina (-2,078) and Tennessee (-1,656).
