The following is an unedited transcript of the press release available on the Web site of Department of Labor at:
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending Oct. 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 530,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week''s unrevised figure of 531,000. The 4-week moving average was 526,250, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week''s unrevised average of 532,250.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.4 percent for the week ending Oct. 17, a decrease 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 Oct. 17 was 5,797,000, a decrease of 148,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 5,945,000. The 4-week moving average was 5,960,750, a decrease of 78,750 from the preceding week''s revised average of 6,039,500.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 492,456 in the week ending Oct. 24, an increase of 32,026 from the previous week. There were 449,389 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.8 percent during the week ending Oct. 17, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 4,968,019, an increase of 51,445 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.4 percent and the volume was 3,233,118.
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 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 Oct. 10.
Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,895 in the week ending Oct. 17, a decrease of 337 from the prior week. There were 2,417 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 231 from the preceding week.
There were 21,217 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Oct. 10, an increase of 1,096 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 33,081, an increase of 2,343 from the prior week.
States reported 3,368,909 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Oct. 10, a decrease of 21,713 from the prior week. There were 1,050,369 claimants in the comparable week in 2008. EUC weekly claims include both first and second tier activity.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Oct. 10 were in Puerto Rico (6.3 percent), Nevada (5.3), Oregon (5.3), Pennsylvania (5.0), Wisconsin (4.8), Arkansas (4.6), California (4.6), Michigan (4.6), North Carolina (4.5), and South Carolina (4.5).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Oct. 17 were in California (+5,774), Puerto Rico (+685), Minnesota (+614), Nevada (+366), and Nebraska (+239), while the largest decreases were in Wisconsin (-5,681), New York (-4,711), Pennsylvania (-4,033), Illinois (-3,870), and Oregon (-2,706).
