FROM: U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending February 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 336,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 339,000. The 4-week moving average was 338,500, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 336,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending February 8, an increase 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 8 was 2,981,000, an increase of 37,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,944,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,959,750, a decrease of 6,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,966,250.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 323,151 in the week ending February 15, a decrease of 35,008 from the previous week. There were 351,026 initial claims in the comparable week in 2013.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent during the week ending February 8, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,440,333, a decrease of 12,426 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.9 percent and the volume was 3,668,711.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending February 1 was 3,525,006, an increase of 7,100 from the previous week. There were 5,581,677 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2013.
No state was triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program during the week ending February 1.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,198 in the week ending February 8, a decrease of 176 from the prior week. There were 2,108 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 192 from the preceding week.
There were 21,505 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending February 1, a decrease of 1,568 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 29,681, a decrease of 958 from the prior week.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 1 were in Alaska (5.8), Pennsylvania (4.2), Rhode Island (4.0), Connecticut (3.9), New Jersey (3.9), Wisconsin (3.8), California (3.7), Montana (3.7), Illinois (3.6), Puerto Rico (3.5), West Virginia (3.5), and Massachusetts (3.4).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 8 were in Georgia (+7,229), North Carolina (+1,347), South Carolina (+1,292), Alabama (+1,191), and California (+1,145), while the largest decreases were in New York (-2,721), Ohio (-2,348), New Jersey (-2,035), Connecticut (-1,149), and New Hampshire (-1,146).
