–No Special Factors
By Ian Mckendry and Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits fell 6,000 to 439,000 in March 27 week after seasonal
adjustment, according to data released by the U.S. Labor Department
Thursday morning.
The level was only slightly below the 440,000 level expected in a
Market News International survey of economists.
A Labor analyst said that seasonal adjustment factors expected a
rise of 0.5% which would have been a gain of about 2,000 claims in the
March 27 week, compared with the actual outcome of a 0.9% decline in
unadjusted claims. As a level, unadjusted claims fell 3,784 to 404,869,
well below the 599,299 level in the comparable week a year earlier.
The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week average fell 6,750 to
447,250, the lowest level since 444,500 in the September 13, 2008 week.
In the March 20 week, continuing claims fell by 6,000 to 4.662
million, and were down 170,152 unadjusted. Continuing claims were at
their lowest level since the December 20, 2008 week, when they were at a
level of 4.589 million.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained at 3.6%
in the March 20 week, and were down sharply from 4.3% 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 267,012 more unadjusted
Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits claims in the March 13
week, bringing that category to 5,894,337. Extended benefits claims fell
by 3,013 to 136,990 not seasonally adjusted.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]
