US jobless claims fall by 9,000 to 363,000

U.S. Department of Labor Office of Public Affairs Washington, D.C. EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION USDL12-2167-NAT Program Contacts: TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL IN THIS Scott Gibbons (202) 693-3008 RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL Tony Sznoluch (202) 693-3176 8:30 A.M. (Eastern), THURSDAY Media Contact: (202) 693-4676 November 1, 2012 UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending October27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 363,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 372,000. The 4-week moving average was 367,250, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 368,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent for the week endingOctober 20, unchanged fromthe prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 20 was 3,263,000, an increase of 4,000 from thepreceding week's revised level of 3,259,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,266,500, a decrease of 6,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,272,750. UNADJUSTED DATA The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 339,750 in the week ending October 27, a decrease of 5,476 from the previous week. There were 369,647 initial claims in the comparable week in 2011. The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent during the week ending October 20, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted numberfor persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,839,018, an increase of 23,295 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5 percent and the volume was 3,199,527. The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending October 13 was 5,035,367, an increase of 112,147 from the previous week. There were 6,783,614 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2011. Extended Benefits were onlyavailable in New York duringthe week ending October 13. Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,586 in the week ending October 20, a decrease of 405 from the prior week. There were 2,817 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 7 from the preceding week. There were 18,144 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending October 13, an increase of 575 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claimingbenefits totaled 39,718, an increase of 1,603 from the prior week. States reported 2,098,646 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending October 13, an increase of 45,689 from the prior week. There were 2,945,642 persons claiming EUC 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 October 13 were in Alaska (4.0), Puerto Rico (3.7), Virgin Islands (3.4), New Jersey (3.2), California (3.1), Pennsylvania (3.1), Connecticut (3.0), Oregon (2.8), Nevada (2.7), Arkansas (2.6), Illinois (2.6), New York (2.6), and North Carolina (2.6). The largest increases in initialclaims for the week ending October 20 were in North Carolina (+2,400), Pennsylvania (+1,679), New Jersey (+1,575), Georgia (+1,477), and Tennessee (+888), while the largest decreases were in California (-16,586), Florida (-2,414), Texas (-1,572), Michigan (-1,308), and Ohio (-1,214)