Initial U.S. jobless claims rose by 11,000 last week

In the week ending January 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 444,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 433,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on January 14. The four-week moving average was 440,750, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised average of 449,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending January 2, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.6 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending January 2 was 4,596,000, a decrease of 211,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,807,000. The four-week moving average was 4,855,000, a decrease of 151,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 5,006,500.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.448 million.  

Unadjusted data:The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 801,086 in the week ending January 9, an increase of 156,165 from the previous week. There were 956,791 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.6 percent during the week ending January 2, an increase of 0.4 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming unemployment insurance benefits in state programs totaled 5,988,940, an increase of 503,924 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 4.4 percent and the volume was 5,855,855.

Extended benefits were available in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin during the week ending December 26.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 1,466 in the week ending January 2, a decrease of 187 from the prior week. There were 1,454 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 73 from the preceding week.

There were 25,959 former federal civilian employees claiming unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending December 26, an increase of 193 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 36,116, an increase of 1,742 from the prior week.

States reported 5,002,180 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending December 26, a decrease of 141,279 from the prior week. There were 1,666,412 claimants in the comparable week in 2008. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending December 26 were in Alaska (7.4 percent), Oregon (6.6), Idaho (6.2), Wisconsin (6.2), Michigan (5.9), Montana (5.7), Nevada (5.7), North Carolina (5.6), Pennsylvania (5.5) and Washington (5.4).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending January 2 were in New York (+22,810), North Carolina (+20,942), Georgia (+11,172), Wisconsin (+9,938) and Alabama (+5,748), while the largest decreases were in Illinois (-6,928), Florida (-6,523), Kansas (-3,701), Maryland (-2,309) and California (-2,284).