U S Department of Labor : Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

News Release

News Release

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TRANSMISSION OF MATERIALS IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL

8:30 A.M. (Eastern) Thursday, January 21, 2016

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending January 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 293,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 from 284,000 to 283,000. The 4-week moving average was 285,000, an increase of 6,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 250 from 278,750 to 278,500.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.6 percent for the week ending January 9, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending January 9 was 2,208,000, a decrease of 56,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up 1,000 from 2,263,000 to 2,264,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,227,750, an increase of 3,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 2,224,250 to 2,224,500.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 377,730 in the week ending January 16, a decrease of 125,174 (or -24.9 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 137,491 (or -27.3 percent) from the previous week. There were 383,538 initial claims in the comparable week in 2015.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.0 percent during the week ending January 9, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,667,545, a decrease of 135,781 (or -4.8 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 67,932 (or -2.4 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 2.2 percent and the volume was 2,911,671.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending January 2 was 2,851,868, an increase of 302,793 from the previous week. There were 3,050,869 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2015.

No state was triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program during the week ending January 2.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,881 in the week ending January 9, an increase of 810 from the prior week. There were 1,497 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 622 from the preceding week.

There were 14,246 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending January 2, a decrease of 877 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 16,443, a decrease of 11 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending January 2 were in Alaska (4.6), New Jersey (3.5), Pennsylvania (3.4), Connecticut (3.2), Montana (3.2), West Virginia (3.2), Illinois (2.8), Massachusetts (2.8), Minnesota

(2.8), and Rhode Island (2.8).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending January 9 were in California (+17,371), Texas (+13,399), New York (+6,819), Georgia (+5,901), and Missouri (+5,892), while the largest decreases were in Iowa (-2,737), Kentucky (- 1,790), Minnesota (-1,031), New Jersey (-698), and Michigan (-591).

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS
WEEK ENDING	January 16	January 9	Change	January 2	PriorYear1
Initial Claims (SA)	293,000	283,000	+10,000	277,000	301,000
Initial Claims (NSA)	377,730	502,904	-125,174	405,368	383,538
4-Wk Moving Average (SA)	285,000	278,500	+6,500	275,750	298,250
WEEK ENDING	January 9	January 2	Change	December 26	PriorYear1
Insured Unemployment (SA)	2,208,000	2,264,000	-56,000	2,234,000	2,418,000
Insured Unemployment (NSA)	2,667,545	2,803,326	-135,781	2,502,457	2,911,671
4-Wk Moving Average (SA)	2,227,750	2,224,500	+3,250	2,219,000	2,407,500
Insured Unemployment Rate (SA)2	1.6%	1.7%	-0.1	1.6%	1.8%
Insured Unemployment Rate (NSA)2	2.0%	2.1%	-0.1	1.8%	2.2%

INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)
WEEK ENDING	January 9	January 2	Change	Prior Year1
Federal Employees (UCFE)	1,881	1,071	+810	1,986
Newly Discharged Veterans (UCX)	1,497	875	+622	2,039

PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN ALL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)
WEEK ENDING	January 2	December 26	Change	Prior Year1
Regular State	2,798,637	2,498,691	+299,946	2,985,736
Federal Employees	14,246	15,123	-877	17,698
Newly Discharged Veterans	16,443	16,454	-11	24,508
Extended Benefits3	1	0	+1	8
State Additional Benefits4	7,052	6,353	+699	6,256
STC / Workshare 5	15,489	12,454	+3,035	16,663
TOTAL	2,851,868	2,549,075	+302,793	3,050,869

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 136,270,223 as denominator.

3. Information on the EB program can be found here: EB Program information

4. Some states maintain additional benefit programs for those claimants who exhaust regular, extended and emergency benefits. Information on states that participate, and the extent of benefits paid, can be found starting on page 4-5 of this link: Extensions and Special Programs PDF

5. Information on STC/Worksharing can be found starting on page 4-9 of the following link: Extensions and Special Programs PDF