The following is the unedited transcript of the news release from the U.S. Department of Labor.


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending April 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 372,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 355,000. The 4-week moving average was 376,000, a decrease of 750 from the previous week''s revised average of 376,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending April 5, unchanged from the prior week''s unrevised rate of 2.2 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 5 was 2,984,000, an increase of 26,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 2,958,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,936,500, an increase of 29,750 from the preceding week''s revised average of 2,906,750.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 368,378 in the week ending April 12, an increase of 11,797 from the previous week. There were 317,917 initial claims in the comparable week in 2007.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent during the week ending April 5, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,073,527, a decrease of 132,849 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.0 percent and the volume was 2,594,605.

Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending March 29.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 929 in the week ending April 5, an increase of 140 from the prior week. There were 1,441 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 21 from the preceding week.

There were 14,407 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 29, an increase of 922 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 21,562, a decrease of 647 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 29 were in Alaska (4.8 percent), Michigan (4.3), Puerto Rico (4.1), Pennsylvania (3.8), Rhode Island (3.7), Wisconsin (3.7), Oregon (3.6), New Jersey (3.4), Vermont (3.4), California (3.2), and Idaho (3.2).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 5 were in Georgia (+4,306), Michigan (+3,483), Texas (+2,377), Illinois (+2,090), and Washington (+1,985), while the largest decreases were in New Jersey (-2,737), New York (-2,465), Wisconsin (-2,075), Kansas (-1,787), and Puerto Rico (-1,055).


Available at:

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm