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


In the week ending Dec. 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 329,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 319,000. The 4-week moving average was 317,500, an increase of 1,250 from the previous week''s revised average of 316,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9% for the week ending Dec. 23, unchanged from the prior week''s unrevised rate of 1.9%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Dec. 23 was 2,446,000, a decrease of 76,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 2,522,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,489,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the preceding week''s revised average of 2,505,000.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 504,261 in the week ending Dec. 30, an increase of 79,011 from the previous week. There were 475,889 initial claims in the comparable week in 2005.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.0 percent during the week ending Dec. 23, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,670,860, an increase of 105,693 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.2 percent and the volume was 2,823,270.

Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending Dec. 16.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,641 in the week ending Dec. 23, a decrease of 291 from the prior week. There were 1,705 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 280 from the preceding week.

There were 17,605 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Dec. 16, a decrease of 2,471 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 25,600, a decrease of 595 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Dec. 16 were in Alaska (4.4 percent), Michigan (3.5), Puerto Rico (3.1), Pennsylvania (2.9), Wisconsin (2.9), Arkansas (2.8), New Jersey (2.8), Oregon (2.8), Illinois (2.6), Massachusetts (2.6), and Rhode Island (2.6).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Dec. 23 were in Indiana (+9,544), Pennsylvania (+6,809), Kentucky (+4,047), Michigan (+3,821), and Texas (+3,789), while the largest decreases were in Tennessee (-3,157), New York (-1,940), North Carolina (-1,220), Alabama (-746), and Illinois (-527).


Available at:

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm