–No Special Factors; Only Virgin Islands Estimated
By Ian Mckendry and Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits fell 11,000 to 448,000 in April 24 week after seasonal
adjustment, according to data released by the U.S. Labor Department
Thursday morning.
The level was only slightly above the 445,000 level expected
in a Market News International survey of economists. Initial claims were
revised up to a 459,000 level in the April 17 week from the originally
reported 456,000 level.
A Labor analyst said that seasonal adjustment factors expected a
decline in unadjusted claims of only 0.1%, which would have been a very
modest drop of about 500 claims. Unadjusted initial claims actually
fell 2.6%, or 11,171, to a level of 423,286. This is still well below
the 583,457 level in the comparable week a year ago.
The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week average rose 1,500 to
462,500 in the April 24 week.
In the April 17 employment survey week, continuing claims fell by
18,000 to 4.645 million, and were down 144,978 unadjusted. The level of
continuing claims is down 23,000 from the 4.668 million level in the
March 13 employment survey week.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained at 3.6%
in the April 17 week, and was down sharply from 4.6% in the comparable
week a year earlier.
The unemployment rate among the insured labor force is well below
that reported monthly by the Labor Department because claims are
approved for the most part only for job losers, not the job leavers and
labor force reentrants included in the monthly report.
The Labor Department said that there were 146,641 fewer unadjusted
Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits claims in the April 10
week, bringing that category to 5,200,473. Extended benefits claims,
however, rose by 55,632 to 202,215 not seasonally adjusted.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]
