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. 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 531,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 520,000. The 4-week moving average was 532,250, a decrease of 750 from the previous week''s revised average of 533,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.5 percent for the week ending Oct. 10, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week''s revised rate of 4.6 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Oct. 10 was 5,923,000, a decrease of 98,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 6,021,000. The 4-week moving average was 6,030,750, a decrease of 59,250 from the preceding week''s revised average of 6,090,000.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 460,449 in the week ending Oct. 17, a decrease of 49,113 from the previous week. There were 416,111 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.7 percent during the week ending Oct. 10, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 4,898,174, a decrease of 44,913 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.3 percent and the volume was 3,134,390.

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. 3.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 2,243 in the week ending Oct. 10, an increase of 352 from the prior week. There were 2,656 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 162 from the preceding week.

There were 19,969 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Oct. 3, a decrease of 728 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 30,437, a decrease of 1,438 from the prior week.

States reported 3,390,622 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Oct. 3, an increase of 40,716 from the prior week. There were 1,173,367 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. 3 were in Puerto Rico (6.6 percent), Oregon (5.3), Nevada (5.2), Pennsylvania (4.9), California (4.8), Michigan (4.7), Wisconsin (4.7), North Carolina (4.6), South Carolina (4.5), and Washington (4.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Oct. 10 were in Florida (+9,976), New York (+5,411), Wisconsin (+4,999), Indiana (+4,977), and Arkansas (+4,704), while the largest decreases were in California (-7,062), Tennessee (-294), Maine (-140), and Nebraska (-34).