UNEMPLOYMENT WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING JULY 21, 2012

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending July 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 353,000, a decrease of 35,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 388,000. The 4-week moving average was 367,250, a decrease of 8,750 from the previous week's revised average of 376,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending July 14, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending July 14 was 3,287,000, a decrease of 30,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,317,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,309,000, a decrease of 3,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,312,750.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 337,059 in the week ending July 21, a decrease of 118,201 from the previous week. There were 369,207 initial claims in the comparable week in 2011.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent during the week ending July 14, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,333,287, a decrease of 26,780 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.0 percent and the volume was 3,752,532.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending July 7 was 6,034,225, an increase of 280,405 from the previous week.

Extended benefits were available in the Idaho, Nevada, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, during the week ending July 7.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,658 in the week ending July 14, a decrease of 52 from the prior week. There were 2,776 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 497 from the preceding week.

There were 16,975 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending July 7, an increase of 509 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 39,046, an increase of 1,527 from the prior week.

States reported 2,556,456 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending July 7, an increase of 32,093 from the prior week. There were 3,172,428 claimants in the comparable week in 2011. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 7 were in the Virgin Islands (4.7), Puerto Rico (4.1), New Jersey (3.9), Pennsylvania (3.9), Connecticut (3.7), Alaska (3.7), Rhode Island (3.5), California (3.4), Wisconsin (3.4), and Oregon (3.4).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending July 14 were in California (+26,244), North Carolina (+11,948), Georgia (+8,372), Alabama (+4,148), and Oregon (+3,019), while the largest decreases were in New York (-10,794), Michigan (-7,453), Kentucky (-4,904), Pennsylvania (-4,186), and Ohio (-3,120).