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 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 640,000, an increase of 27,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 613,000. The 4-week moving average was 646,750, a decrease of 4,250 from the previous week''s unrevised average of 651,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.6 percent for the week ending April 11, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week''s unrevised rate of 4.5 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 11 was 6,137,000, an increase of 93,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 6,044,000. The 4-week moving average was 5,944,000, an increase of 142,500 from the preceding week''s revised average of 5,801,500.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 4.837 million.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 591,952 in the week ending April 18, a decrease of 18,601 from the previous week. There were 328,346 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.8 percent during the week ending April 11, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 6,406,964, an increase of 78,746 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.3 percent and the volume was 3,054,853.

Extended benefits were available in Alaska, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin during the week ending April 4.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,221 in the week ending April 11, an increase of 147 from the prior week. There were 1,847 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 140 from the preceding week.

There were 17,103 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending April 4, a decrease of 1,494 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 28,532, a decrease of 220 from the prior week.

States reported 2,264,774 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending April 4, an increase of 116,533 from the prior week. EUC weekly claims include both first and second tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending April 4 were in Oregon (7.7 percent), Michigan (7.6), Idaho (6.8), Wisconsin (6.7), Puerto Rico (6.6), Pennsylvania (6.3), Nevada (6.1), Rhode Island (6.0), Vermont (5.9), and Montana (5.8).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 11 were in Florida (+9,303), Pennsylvania (+7,538), California (+6,404), Wisconsin (+3,611), and New York (+3,581), while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-12,566), North Carolina (-6,428), Missouri (-5,575), Kentucky (-5,313), and Oregon (-4,580).


Available at:


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