UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending February 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 344,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 366,000. The 4-week moving average was 355,000, a decrease of 6,750 from the previous week's revised average of 361,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending February 16, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 16 was 3,074,000, a decrease of 91,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,165,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,155,000, a decrease of 35,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,190,500.
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 307,589 in the week ending February 23, a decrease of 43,208 from the previous week. There were 334,242 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.7 percent during the week ending February 16, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,516,563, a decrease of 152,148 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,668,711. A year earlier, the rate was 3.1 percent and the volume was 3,882,527.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending February 9 was 5,764,168, an increase of 183,841 from the previous week. There were 7,498,600 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.
Extended Benefits were available in Alaska during the week ending February 9.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,352 in the week ending February 16, a decrease of 67 from the prior week. There were 2,303 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 221 from the preceding week.
There were 22,682 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending February 9, an increase of 403 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 39,466, a decrease of 144 from the prior week.
States reported 2,005,991 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending February 9, an increase of 186,935 from the prior week. There were 2,904,562 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2012. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 9 were in Alaska (6.5), Puerto Rico (4.3), Montana (4.2), New Jersey (4.2), Pennsylvania (4.2), Rhode Island (4.1), Wisconsin (4.0), California (3.9), Idaho (3.8), Illinois (3.8), and Massachusetts (3.8).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 16 were in California (+26,683), Connecticut (+1,747), Massachusetts (+883), and New Mexico (+5), while the largest decreases were in Illinois (-3,285), Kansas (-3,114), Pennsylvania (-2,865), Florida (-2,442), and Ohio (-2,265).
