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


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending Jan. 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 299,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 325,000. The 4-week moving average was 314,750, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week''s revised average of 316,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9% for the week ending Dec. 30, unchanged from the prior week''s unrevised rate of 1.9%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Dec. 30 was 2,428,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 2,431,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,473,750, a decrease of 11,500 from the preceding week''s revised average of 2,485,250.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 506,988 in the week ending Jan. 6, an increase of 7,943 from the previous week. There were 555,114 initial claims in the comparable week in 2006.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent during the week ending Dec. 30, an increase of 0.3 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,030,341, an increase of 375,609 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5 percent and the volume was 3,155,322.

Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending Dec. 23.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,534 in the week ending Dec. 30, a decrease of 107 from the prior week. There were 1,326 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 380 from the preceding week.

There were 19,848 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Dec. 23, an increase of 2,243 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 24,747, a decrease of 853 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Dec. 23 were in Alaska (4.9 percent), Michigan (4.2), Wisconsin (3.1), Arkansas (3.0), Oregon (3.0), Pennsylvania (3.0), New Jersey (2.8), Massachusetts (2.7), Rhode Island (2.7), Idaho (2.6), and Montana (2.6).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Dec. 30 were in Wisconsin (+17,462), Pennsylvania (+17,428), Michigan (+16,023), South Carolina (+6,768), and New Jersey (+6,300), while the largest decreases were in California (-9,084), Kentucky (-6,110), Texas (-5,668), Puerto Rico (-3,493), and Florida (-3,099).


Available at:

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