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 Nov. 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 466,000, a decrease of 35,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 501,000. The 4-week moving average was 496,500, a decrease of 16,500 from the previous week''s revised average of 513,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.1 percent for the week ending Nov. 14, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week''s unrevised rate of 4.3 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Nov. 14 was 5,423,000, a decrease of 190,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 5,613,000. The 4-week moving average was 5,613,750, a decrease of 98,500 from the preceding week''s revised average of 5,712,250.
The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.866 million.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 543,926 in the week ending Nov. 21, an increase of 68,080 from the previous week. There were 609,138 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.8 percent during the week ending Nov. 14, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 5,070,712, an increase of 187,642 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.8 percent and the volume was 3,782,040.

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 Nov. 7.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 2,346 in the week ending Nov. 14, an increase of 45 from the prior week. There were 2,026 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 408 from the preceding week.

There were 22,941 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Nov. 7, a decrease of 1,962 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 34,598, a decrease of 301 from the prior week.

States reported 3,639,036 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Nov. 7, an increase of 16,370 from the prior week. There were 766,565 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 Nov. 7 were in Puerto Rico (6.2 percent), Oregon (5.5), Alaska (5.1), Nevada (5.1), Pennsylvania (4.9), Wisconsin (4.9), Arkansas (4.7), California (4.7), Michigan (4.6), North Carolina (4.6), and Washington (4.6).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Nov. 14 were in Florida (+1,313), Indiana (+607), Hawaii (+278), and North Dakota (+81), while the largest decreases were in California (-7,987), Texas (-4,710), Pennsylvania (-4,321), Wisconsin (-2,716), and Ohio (-2,486).