Good News: Unemployment Dropping, Folks are Getting Jobs!

A drop of 10,000 in initial unemployment claims, and the moving average also dropped just under 5,000. While this isn't particularly helpful if it isn't you who's gotten a job, now's the time to get out there. Things are looking up. Keep up the good work!

Best - Dan.

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From the DOL Release

In the week ending Aug. 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 570,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 580,000. The 4-week moving average was 566,250, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average of 571,000.

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UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA


In the week ending Aug. 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims
was 570,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised
figure of 580,000. The 4-week moving average was 566,250, a decrease of
4,750 from the previous week's revised average of 571,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate
was 4.6 percent for the week ending Aug. 15, a decrease of 0.1
percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.7 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment
during the week ending Aug. 15 was 6,133,000, a decrease of 119,000
from the preceding week's revised level of 6,252,000. The 4-week moving
average was 6,241,750, a decrease of 27,000 from the preceding week's
revised average of 6,268,750.  

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.583 million.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs,
unadjusted, totaled 453,936 in the week ending Aug. 22, a decrease of
4,049 from the previous week. There were 345,127 initial claims in the
comparable week in 2008.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.3 percent
during the week ending Aug. 15, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from
the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI
benefits in state programs totaled 5,673,467, a decrease of 135,105
from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.4 percent and
the volume was 3,175,006.

Extended benefits were available in Alabama, 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
Hampshire, New Jersey, 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 Aug. 8.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian
employees totaled 1,377 in the week ending Aug. 15, a decrease of 262
from the prior week. There were 2,054 initial claims by newly
discharged veterans, a decrease of 198 from the preceding week.

There were 19,783 former Federal civilian employees claiming
UI benefits for the week ending Aug. 8, a decrease of 794 from the
previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled
30,541, an increase of 216 from the prior week.

States reported 2,916,148 persons claiming EUC (Emergency
Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Aug. 8, an
increase of 38,392 from the prior week. There were 1,081,755 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.
8 were in Puerto Rico (7.3 percent), Oregon (6.1), Pennsylvania (6.0),
Michigan (5.9), Nevada (5.8), Wisconsin (5.5), California (5.4),
Connecticut (5.4), New Jersey (5.2), North Carolina (5.0), and South
Carolina (5.0).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending
Aug. 15 were in Michigan (+4,068), Pennsylvania (+1,193), Florida
(+1,148), Puerto Rico (+735), and Missouri (+649), while the largest
decreases were in California (-6,286), Tennessee (-2,999), Texas
(-2,557), Wisconsin (-2,075), and Ohio (-1,918).

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UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS

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	Advance				Prior1
WEEK ENDING	Aug. 22	Aug. 15	Change	Aug. 8	Year

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Initial Claims (SA)	570,000	580,000	-10,000	561,000	433,000
Initial Claims (NSA)	453,936	457,985	-4,049	482,590	345,127
4-Wk Moving Average (SA)	566,250	571,000	-4,750	565,750	440,250

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

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Ins. Unemployment (SA)	6,133,000	6,252,000	-119,000	6,239,000	3,451,000
Ins. Unemployment (NSA)	5,673,467	5,808,572	-135,105	5,896,062	3,175,006
4-Wk Moving Average (SA)	6,241,750	6,268,750	-27,000	6,268,500	3,399,250

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Ins. Unemployment Rate (SA)2	4.6%	4.7%	-0.1	4.7%	2.6%
Ins. Unemployment Rate (NSA)2	4.3%	4.4%	-0.1	4.4%	2.4%

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INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)

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				Prior1
WEEK ENDING	Aug. 15	Aug. 8	Change	Year

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Federal Employees	1,377	1,639	-262	1,065
Newly Discharged Veterans	2,054	2,252	-198	1,702

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PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)

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				Prior1
WEEK ENDING	Aug. 8	Aug. 1	Change	Year

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Federal Employees	19,783	20,577	-794	13,524
Newly Discharged Veterans	30,541	30,325	+216	21,363
Railroad Retirement Board	10,000	10,000	0	3,000
Extended Benefits	464,894	400,759	+64,135	1,671
EUC 20083	2,916,148	2,877,756	+38,392	1,081,755

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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 08/15/2009 

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STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 

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State	Change		State Supplied Comment
CA	-6,286		Fewer layoffs in the service industry.
TN	-2,999		Fewer layoffs in the trade, service, transportation equipment, fabricated metals, and industrial machinery industries.
TX	-2,557		Fewer layoffs in the trade, service, information, and manufacturing industries.
WI	-2,075		Fewer layoffs in the trade and manufacturing industries.
OH	-1,918		Fewer layoffs in the automobile industry.
NC	-1,734		Fewer layoffs in the construction, transportation equipment, textile, and rubber/plastics industries.
GA	-1,571		Fewer layoffs in the construction, trade, and manufacturing industries.
SC	-1,307		Fewer layoffs in the industrial machinery and transportation equipment industries.
KY	-1,228		Fewer layoffs in the automobile and manufacturing industries.
MA	-1,214		Fewer layoffs in the manufacturing industry.
WA	-1,201		No comment.
IL	-1,196		Fewer layoffs in the trade, service, and manufacturing industries.
NY	-1,015		Fewer layoffs in the service, finance, insurance, and manufacturing industries.

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STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 

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State	Change		State Supplied Comment
FL	+1,148		Layoffs in the construction, trade, service, and manufacturing industries, and agriculture.
PA	+1,193		Layoffs in the furniture, primary metals, trade, and service industries.
MI	+4,068		Layoffs in the automobile industry.

State Detail Prior Week
UI Claims Series 1967 to current