This week's Unemployment Claims Report

Bad news:  Claims increased last week.  ETA article is here.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

          SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA



In the week ending Aug. 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial
claims was 576,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week's revised
figure of 561,000. The 4-week moving average was 570,000, an increase of 4,250
from the previous week's revised average of 565,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.7 percent
for the week ending Aug. 8, unchanged from the prior
week's unrevised rate of 4.7 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during
the week ending Aug. 8 was 6,241,000, an increase of 2,000 from the preceding
week's revised level of 6,239,000. The 4-week moving average was 6,266,000,
a decrease of 2,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 6,268,500.
 

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.565 million.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted,
totaled 454,216 in the week ending Aug. 15, a decrease of 28,406 from the previous
week. There were 343,169 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.4 percent during the
week ending Aug. 8, unchanged from the prior week.
The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs
totaled 5,798,001, a decrease of 97,650 from the preceding week. A year earlier,
the rate was 2.4 percent and the volume was 3,160,610.

Extended benefits were available in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas,
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia,
Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New
York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode
Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia,
Washington, and Wisconsin during the week ending Aug. 1.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees
totaled 1,639 in the week ending Aug. 8, an increase of 271 from the
prior week. There were 2,252 initial claims by newly discharged
veterans, an increase of 232 from the preceding week.

There were 20,577 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI
benefits for the week ending Aug. 1, an increase of 1,009 from the
previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled
30,325, a decrease of 15 from the prior week.

States reported 2,877,756 persons claiming EUC (Emergency
Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Aug. 1, an
increase of 92,384 from the prior week. There were 1,406,779 claimants
in the comparable week in 2008. EUC weekly claims include both first
and second tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Aug. 1
were in Puerto Rico (7.3 percent), Oregon (6.2), Pennsylvania (6.1),
Michigan (5.9), Nevada (5.9), Wisconsin (5.5), California (5.3),
Connecticut (5.3), New Jersey (5.3), North Carolina (5.1), and South
Carolina (5.1).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Aug. 8
were in Tennessee (+2,525), North Carolina (+2,469), Wisconsin
(+2,078), Georgia (+1,753), and Washington (+1,697), while the largest
decreases were in California (-5,635), Michigan (-1,490), Ohio (-951),
Kentucky (-690), and Delaware (-226).

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UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS

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	Advance				Prior1
WEEK ENDING	Aug. 15	Aug. 8	Change	Aug. 1	Year

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Initial Claims (SA)	576,000	561,000	+15,000	554,000	438,000
Initial Claims (NSA)	454,216	482,622	-28,406	466,695	343,169
4-Wk Moving Average (SA)	570,000	565,750	+4,250	556,500	442,500

	Advance				Prior1
WEEK ENDING	Aug. 8	Aug. 1	Change	July 25	Year

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Ins. Unemployment (SA)	6,241,000	6,239,000	+2,000	6,343,000	3,406,000
Ins. Unemployment (NSA)	5,798,001	5,895,651	-97,650	6,019,822	3,160,610
4-Wk Moving Average (SA)	6,266,000	6,268,500	-2,500	6,287,000	3,363,500

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Ins. Unemployment Rate (SA)2	4.7%	4.7%	0.0	4.8%	2.5%
Ins. Unemployment Rate (NSA)2	4.4%	4.4%	0.0	4.5%	2.4%

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INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)

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				Prior1
WEEK ENDING	Aug. 8	Aug. 1	Change	Year

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Federal Employees	1,639	1,368	+271	1,158
Newly Discharged Veterans	2,252	2,020	+232	1,724

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PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS
(UNADJUSTED)

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				Prior1
WEEK ENDING	Aug. 1	July 25	Change	Year

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Federal Employees	20,577	19,568	+1,009	14,033
Newly Discharged Veterans	30,325	30,340	-15	20,906
Railroad Retirement Board	11,000	11,000	0	2,000
Extended Benefits	400,779	448,830	-48,051	1,559
EUC 20083	2,877,756	2,785,372	+92,384	1,406,779

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FOOTNOTES

SA - Seasonally Adjusted Data

NSA -
Not Seasonally Adjusted Data

¹ - Prior year is comparable
to most recent data.


² - Most recent week used covered employment of 133,078,480 as denominator.


³ - EUC weekly claims include both first and second tier activity.

UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED 08/08/2009 

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STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 

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State	Change		State Supplied Comment
CA	-5,635		Fewer layoffs in the construction, trade, and service industries.
MI	-1,490		Fewer layoffs in the automobile industry.

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STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 

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State	Change		State Supplied Comment
MA	+1,318		Layoffs in the trade and manufacturing industries.
NY	+1,453		Layoffs in the trade, service, finance, and insurance industries.
TX	+1,569		Layoffs in the trade, service, transportation, and manufacturing industries.
SC	+1,584		Layoffs in the transportation equipment and industrial machinery industries.
PR	+1,601		No comment.
WA	+1,697		Layoffs in the trade and manufacturing industries, and agriculture.
GA	+1,753		Layoffs in the construction, trade, and manufacturing industries.
WI	+2,078		Layoffs in the trade, service, and manufacturing industries.
NC	+2,469		Layoffs in the transportation equipment, textile, electrical equipment, electronic equipment, construction, and service industries.
TN	+2,525		Layoffs in the transportation equipment, industrial machinery, rubber/plastics, and service industries.

State Detail Prior Week

UI Claims Series 1967 to current