–Not Seasonally Adjusted Claims -11,739 to 342,669
–Only Mississippi Estimated

By Denny Gulino and Kevin Kastner

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits topped the 400,000 level again in the Aug. 13 week, rising a
more than expected 9,000 to 408,000 after seasonal adjustment while the
previous week was revised upward, the Labor Department reported
Thursday.

Without adjustment, claims totaled 342,669, down 11,739 from the
previous week.

The Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors
influencing the latest week’s numbers.

Economists surveyed by Market News International had expected
the latest tally of initial claims to come in at 400,000, up 5,000 from
the initially reported level of 395,000 in the Aug. 6 week. The previous
week’s claims were revised to 399,000. Except for the Aug. 6 week’s
399,000, initial claims have been above the 400,000 level since the
April 9 week.

The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week moving average was
402,500 in the Aug. 13 week, down 3,500 and the seventh straight
decline.

A Labor Department analyst said seasonal factors had expected a
decline of 5.5% or about 20,000 claims, and instead got a 3.3%
decline, the 11,739 figure. A year earlier unadjusted claims were at
405,484.

The analyst noted only Mississippi was estimated and, for the
second week, said the state-level data did not reflect any FAA effect
although federal employee claims, at 3,544, were elevated above typical
by about 1,000 for the second week.

The FAA’s funding was temporarily suspended July 22 until Congress
finally extended it a week ago, allowing airport construction projects
to resume and bringing about 4,000 FAA employees back on the job. As was
explained the previous week, government employees who expect their
layoffs to be temporary are often reluctant to file for unemployment
benefits since if they have to return the money upon their return.

The state data released for the Aug. 6 week indicated unadjusted
initial claims increased in 34 states and decreased in 18, with no
change in one state.

In the Aug. 6 week, continuing claims increased 7,000 to
3,702,000. They had been 4,487,000 a year earlier after adjustment.
Before adjustment continuing claims dropped 45,069 to 3,535,364 and had
been 4,281,074 a year earlier.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained 2.9%
adjusted compared to 3.5% a year earlier, and was 2.8% unadjusted,
compared to 3.4%.

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 the level of unadjusted Emergency
Unemployment Compensation benefits claims fell 27,704 in the July 30
week without adjustment, bringing that category to 3,130,608. Extended
benefit claims fell 16,023 to 527,490.

The Labor Department reported that a total of 7,336,178 persons
claimed unemployment benefits in the July 30 week, a decline of 143,737
from the previous week, well below the 9,969,618 in the comparable week
a year ago. These data are not seasonally adjusted, and include regular
state claims, federal employee claims, new veterans claims, the EUC and
extended benefits programs, state additional benefits, and STC/Workshare
claims.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$]