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


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending April 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 357,000, a decrease of 53,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 410,000. The 4-week moving average was 378,250, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week''s revised average of 375,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending March 29, unchanged from the prior week''s unrevised rate of 2.2 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 29 was 2,940,000, an increase of 3,000 from the preceding week''s unrevised level of 2,937,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,898,500, an increase of 36,500 from the preceding week''s revised average of 2,862,000.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 359,057 in the week ending April 5, an increase of 13,063 from the previous week. There were 328,266 initial claims in the comparable week in 2007.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent during the week ending March 29, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,187,375, a decrease of 31,498 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.0 percent and the volume was 2,688,419.

Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending March 22.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 783 in the week ending March 29, an increase of 19 from the prior week. There were 1,391 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 115 from the preceding week.

There were 13,345 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 22, a decrease of 1,967 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 22,009, a decrease of 17 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 22 were in Alaska (4.4 percent), Michigan (4.3), Rhode Island (3.8), Wisconsin (3.7), Pennsylvania (3.6), Idaho (3.4), Oregon (3.4), Vermont (3.4), New Jersey (3.3), and Puerto Rico (3.3).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 29 were in Indiana (+7,443), New York (+4,123), Puerto Rico (+3,900), New Jersey (+3,294), and Kentucky (+2,840), while the largest decreases were in Pennsylvania (-2,513), California (-1,595), Iowa (-895), Virginia (-800), and Illinois (-509).


Available at:

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