LABOR MARKET

The weekly and four-week average for the unemployment claims declined as reported by the Labor Department. The weekly initial claim for the week ending August 6th declined by 308,000 was in stark contrast to the Wall Street’s expectation of rise to 315,000. The four-week average moved to the lowest level reached since February 26.

The following is the unedited transcript of the news release from the Labor Department, which can be obtained at www.dol.gov.


UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending Aug. 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 308,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 314,000. The 4-week moving average was 309,250, a decrease of 7,250 from the previous week's revised average of 316,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.0 percent for the week ending July 30, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.0 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending July 30 was 2,573,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the preceding week's unrevised level of 2,581,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,582,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,593,000.


UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 267,461 in the week ending Aug. 6, an increase of 5,819 from the previous week. There were 291,611 initial claims in the comparable week in 2004.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent during the week ending July 30, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,475,224, a decrease of 33,668 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.2 percent and the volume was 2,755,373.
Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending July 23.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,670 in the week ending July 30, an increase of 151 from the prior week. There were 1,984 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 61 from the preceding week.

There were 16,569 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending July 23, an increase of 424 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 29,951, an increase of 1,378 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 23 were in Michigan (3.3 percent), Alaska (3.2), New Jersey (3.0), Pennsylvania (3.0), Rhode Island (2.8), Oregon (2.7), Arkansas (2.5), Connecticut (2.5), Massachusetts (2.4), California (2.3), New York (2.3), and Wisconsin (2.3).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending July 30 were in Washington (+428), Arkansas (+350), Maine (+186), Idaho (+158), and New Mexico (+55), while the largest decreases were in North Carolina (-6,263), Tennessee (-2,737), Georgia (-2,643), Puerto Rico (-1,751), and Missouri (-1,749).