The following is the unedited transcript of the news release from U.S. Department of Labor.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending April 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 313,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 301,000. The 4-week moving average was 307,500, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week''s revised average of 309,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent for the week ending April 1, unchanged from the prior week''s unrevised rate of 1.9 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 1 was 2,424,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 2,428,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,444,250, a decrease of 7,750 from the preceding week''s revised average of 2,452,000.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 313,483 in the week ending April 8, an increase of 59,721 from the previous week. There were 339,709 initial claims in the comparable week in 2005.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.0 percent during the week ending April 1, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,574,685, a decrease of 101,112 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.2 percent and the volume was 2,809,420.

Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending March 25.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 782 in the week ending April 1, a decrease of 107 from the prior week. There were 1,564 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 114 from the preceding week.

There were 14,290 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 25, a decrease of 2,007 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 27,021, a decrease of 1,317 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 25 were in Alaska (5.3 percent), Puerto Rico (4.5), Michigan (4.2), Pennsylvania (3.5), Wisconsin (3.4), Vermont (3.1), New Jersey (3.0), Rhode Island (3.0), Massachusetts (2.9), Illinois (2.7), Minnesota (2.7), and Oregon (2.7).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 1 were in Alabama (+1,830), North Carolina (+1,721), Texas (+1,019), Oregon (+983), and Iowa (+384), while the largest decreases were in California (-4,177), New York (-2,639), Michigan (-2,606), Kansas (-1,944), and Missouri (-1,324).

Available at: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/eta20060623.htm