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


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending July 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 307,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 303,000. The 4-week moving average was 305,500, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week''s revised average of 309,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9% for the week ending July 21, unchanged from the last week unrevised rate of 1.9%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending July 21 was 2,525,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 2,541,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,545,000, a decrease of 9,250 from the preceding week''s revised average of 2,554,250.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 255,679 in the week ending July 28, a decrease of 43,069 from the previous week. There were 259,974 initial claims in the comparable week in 2006.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent during the week ending July 21, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,454,584, a decrease of 134,211 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 1.8 percent and the volume was 2,358,926.

Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending July 14.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,218 in the week ending July 21, a decrease of 451 from the prior week. There were 1,680 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 192 from the preceding week.

There were 13,839 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending July 14, an increase of 247 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 21,458, an increase of 101 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 14 were in Michigan (4.1 percent), Puerto Rico (3.6), New Jersey (3.1), Pennsylvania (3.1), Rhode Island (3.1), Alaska (2.7), Arkansas (2.7), Connecticut (2.5), Massachusetts (2.5), California (2.4), and Wisconsin (2.4).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending July 21 were in Illinois (+2,564), Kentucky (+673), Kansas (+164), Colorado (+79), and the District of Columbia (+65), while the largest decreases were in North Carolina (-10,943), Pennsylvania (-9,771), New York (-9,751), Michigan (-6,439), and Georgia (-5,917).


Available at:

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