US initial claims for jobless benefits rise 15,000 in week ended Sept. 14 from previous week's revised figure to seasonally adjusted 309,000; four-week average falls 7,000 to 314,750: Dept. of Labor

Cindy Allen

WASHINGTON , September 19, 2013 (U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL)) – In the week ending September 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 309,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 294,000. The 4-week moving average was 314,750, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised average of 321,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent for the week ending September 7, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending September 7 was 2,787,000, a decrease of 28,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,815,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,885,000, a decrease of 54,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,939,000.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 271,747 in the week ending September 14, an increase of 42,262 from the previous week. There were 330,454 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent during the week ending September 7, unchanged from the prior week's revised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,505,514, a decrease of 13,496 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,519,010. A year earlier, the rate was 2.3 percent and the volume was 2,927,923.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending August 31 was 4,037,491, a decrease of 235,250 from the previous week. There were 5,173,597 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.

No state was triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program during the week ending August 31.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 927 in the week ending September 7, a decrease of 519 from the prior week. There were 2,073 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 124 from the preceding week.

There were 18,651 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending August 31, a decrease of 1,301 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 31,296, a decrease of 1,989 from the prior week.

States reported 1,454,824 persons claiming Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits for the week ending August 31, unchanged from the prior week. There were 2,162,532 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2012. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending September 7 were in Puerto Rico (4.0), New Jersey (3.5), Alaska (3.1), Connecticut (3.0), Pennsylvania (3.0), New Mexico (2.9), New York (2.7), Virgin Islands (2.7), Illinois (2.5), Oregon (2.4), and Rhode Island (2.4).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending September 7 were in Tennessee (+681), Oklahoma (+601), Mississippi (+298), Maine (+219), and South Carolina (+192), while the largest decreases were in California (-25,412), New York (-2,260), Florida (-1,808), Oregon (-1,738), and Pennsylvania (-1,295).

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS

WEEK ENDING	Advance Sept. 14	Sept. 7	Change	Aug. 31	Prior Year¹

Initial Claims (SA)	309,000	294,000	+15,000	323,000	379,000
Initial Claims (NSA)	271,747	229,485	+42,262	269,209	330,454
4-Wk Moving Average (SA)	314,750	321,750	-7,000	328,750	375,750


WEEK ENDING	Advance Sept. 7	Aug. 31	Change	Aug. 24	Prior Year¹

Ins. Unemployment (SA)	2,787,000	2,815,000	-28,000	2,944,000	3,268,000
Ins. Unemployment (NSA)	2,505,514	2,519,010	-13,496	2,744,030	2,927,923
4-Wk Moving Average (SA)	2,885,000	2,939,000	-54,000	2,977,750	3,298,000

Ins. Unemployment Rate (SA)²	2.1%	2.2%	-0.1	2.3%	2.6%
Ins. Unemployment Rate (NSA)²	1.9%	1.9%	0.0	2.1%	2.3%

INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)

WEEK ENDING	Sept. 7	Aug. 31	Change	Prior Year ¹

Federal Employees	927	1,446	-519	962
Newly Discharged Veterans	2,073	2,197	-124	2,715

PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN ALL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)

WEEK ENDING

Aug.31

Aug. 24

Change

Prior Year ¹

Regular State	2,514,667	2,736,806	-222,139	2,923,959
Federal Employees (UCFE)	18,651	19,952	-1,301	16,610
Newly Discharged Veterans (UCX)	31,296	33,285	-1,989	37,093
EUC 2008³	1,454,824	1,454,824		2,162,532
Extended Benefits⁴	290	271	+19	2,407
State Additional Benefits ⁵	3,823	3,780	+43	5,583
STC / Workshare ⁶	13,940	23,823	-9,883	25,413
TOTAL	4,037,491	4,272,741	-235,250	5,173,597

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 129,827,178 as denominator.
³ - EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity. Tier-specific EUC data can be found here: http://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/docs/persons.xls
⁴ - Information on the EB program can be found here: http://www.ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/extenben.asp
⁵ - 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: http://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/pdf/uilawcompar/2010/special.pdf
⁶ - Information on STC/Worksharing can be found starting on page 4-9 of the following link: http://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/pdf/uilawcompar/2010/special.pdf

UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000

State	Change	State Supplied Comment
CA	-25,412	Decrease is due to Labor Day holiday and computer system updates.
NY	-2,260	Fewer layoffs in the transportation, health care and social assistance, and retail trade industries.
FL	-1,808	Fewer layoffs in the agriculture, construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, and service industries.
OR	-1,738	No comment.
PA	-1,295	Fewer layoffs in the manufacturing, retail trade, health care and social assistance, and construction.

STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000

State

Change

State Supplied Comment

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