Initial U.S. jobless claims dropped by 43,000 last week

RP news wires

In the week ending February 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 440,000, a decrease of 43,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 483,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on February 11. The four-week moving average was 468,500, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average of 469,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending January 30, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.5 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending January 30 was 4,538,000, a decrease of 79,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,617,000. The four-week moving average was 4,603,500, a decrease of 17,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,621,250.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.322 million.  

Unadjusted data: The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 504,661 in the week ending February 6, a decrease of 28,640 from the previous week. There were 710,152 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.3 percent during the week ending January 30, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming unemployment insurance benefits in state programs totaled 5,659,505, a decrease of 24,352 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 4.4 percent and the volume was 5,953,114.

Extended benefits were available in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, 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 January 23.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 1,569 in the week ending January 30, an increase of 89 from the prior week. There were 2,242 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 375 from the preceding week.

There were 25,878 former federal civilian employees claiming unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending January 23, a decrease of 289 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 37,423, an increase of 1,646 from the prior week.

States reported 5,447,592 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending January 23, a decrease of 184,627 from the prior week. There were 1,805,007 claimants in the comparable week in 2009. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending January 23 were in Alaska (7.5 percent), Oregon (6.7), Idaho (6.5), Wisconsin (6.4), Puerto Rico (6.3), Montana (6.2), Pennsylvania (6.2), Nevada (5.9), Michigan (5.8) and Rhode Island (5.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending January 30 were in Pennsylvania (+10,495), Illinois (+3,062), North Carolina (+2,868), Georgia (+2,803) and Missouri (+2,677), while the largest decreases were in New Jersey (-1,819), Kansas (-1,600), Connecticut (-1,282), Virginia (-1,227) and Puerto Rico (-911).

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