The following is the un-edited press release from the U.S. Department of Labor


UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA


In the week ending Dec. 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 291,000, a decrease of 35,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 326,000. The 4-week moving average was 316,750, a decrease of 9,250 from the previous week''s revised average of 326,000.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent for the week ending Dec. 24, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.1 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Dec. 24 was 2,718,000, an increase of 13,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 2,705,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,661,750, an increase of 33,250 from the preceding week''s revised average of 2,628,500.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 474,290 in the week ending Dec. 31, an increase of 40,340 from the previous week. There were 540,927 initial claims in the comparable week in 2004.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent during the week ending Dec. 24, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,851,341, an increase of 159,474 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.4 percent and the volume was 3,025,945.

Extended benefits were available in Louisiana during the week ending Dec. 17.
Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,537 in the week ending Dec. 24, a decrease of 594 from the prior week. There were 1,771 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 354 from the preceding week.

There were 19,485 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Dec. 17, a decrease of 1,942 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 28,505, a decrease of 785 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Dec. 17 were in Alaska (4.8 percent), Puerto Rico (4.3), Mississippi (3.7), Louisiana (3.6), Michigan (3.3), Pennsylvania (3.2), Wisconsin (2.9), New Jersey (2.8), Oregon (2.8), and Rhode Island (2.7).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Dec. 24 were in Michigan (+13,618), Kentucky (+8,081), Wisconsin (+7,107), Ohio (+7,043), and California (+4,998), while the largest decreases were in North Carolina (-3,348), Georgia (-1,087), New York (-238), Utah (-199), and Colorado (-91).


Available at: www.dol.gov