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


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending March 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 407,000, an increase of 38,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 369,000. The 4-week moving average was 374,500, an increase of 15,750 from the previous week''s revised average of 358,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending March 22, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week''s unrevised rate of 2.1 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 22 was 2,937,000, an increase of 97,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 2,840,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,859,000, an increase of 32,250 from the preceding week''s revised average of 2,826,750.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 343,484 in the week ending March 29, an increase of 28,181 from the previous week. There were 268,218 initial claims in the comparable week in 2007.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent during the week ending March 22, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,219,407, a decrease of 21,038 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.1 percent and the volume was 2,727,408.

Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending March 15.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 763 in the week ending March 22, a decrease of 78 from the prior week. There were 1,264 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 155 from the preceding week.

There were 15,290 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 15, an increase of 689 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 21,727, a decrease of 729 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 15 were in Alaska (4.9 percent), Michigan (4.4), Rhode Island (4.0), Pennsylvania (3.8), Wisconsin (3.6), Idaho (3.5), California (3.4), New Jersey (3.4), Oregon (3.4), and Vermont (3.4).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 22 were in Pennsylvania (+2,904), Wisconsin (+1,526), Georgia (+1,481), New York (+1,478), and Iowa (+916), while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-7,660), Ohio (-5,992), North Carolina (-5,584), Puerto Rico (-2,854), and Texas (-2,547).


Available at:

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