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. 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 375,000, an increase of 69,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 306,000. The 4-week moving average was 325,750, an increase of 10,250 from the previous week''s revised average of 315,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.0 percent for the week ending Jan. 19, unchanged from the prior week''s unrevised rate of 2.0 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Jan. 19 was 2,716,000, an increase of 47,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 2,669,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,705,000, a decrease of 9,500 from the preceding week''s revised average of 2,714,500.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 366,891 in the week ending Jan. 26, a decrease of 48,258 from the previous week. There were 359,959 initial claims in the comparable week in 2007.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent during the week ending Jan. 19, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,256,984, a decrease of 15,016 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.4 percent and the volume was 3,103,449.

Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending Jan. 12.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,540 in the week ending Jan. 19, a decrease of 710 from the prior week. There were 1,740 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 41 from the preceding week.

There were 17,871 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Jan. 12, a decrease of 2,664 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 24,301, a decrease of 656 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Jan. 12 were in Alaska (4.6 percent), Michigan (4.3), Rhode Island (4.0), Pennsylvania (3.8), Idaho (3.7), Wisconsin (3.7), Oregon (3.6), New Jersey (3.5), Massachusetts (3.3), Illinois (3.2), and Vermont (3.2).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Jan. 19 were in Florida (+4,305), Louisiana (+979), and Illinois (+468), while the largest decreases were in North Carolina (-15,401), California (-14,332), Pennsylvania (-11,960), Tennessee (-10,478), and Georgia (-8,329).


Available at:

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