–Initial Claims Level Now Lowest Since April 19, 2008 Week
–Labor Department Releases Annual Revisions, Prior 2 Wks Revised Upwds
–Alaska, Hawaii Estimated, Otherwise Nothing Unusual

By Brai Odion-Esenme and Ian McKendry

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits fell by 5,000 to a level of 359,000 in the March 24 week, above
expectations but, due to annual revisions, the lowest level since
352,000 in the April 19, 2008 week, the Labor Department reported
Thursday.

Economists surveyed by Market News International had expected
initial claims in the March 24 week to come in at 350,000, up from the
348,000 level initially reported in last week’s data.

The Labor Department released new seasonal factors for claims data
going forward, as well as annual revisions that affect numbers all the
way back to January 2007. As a result, the claims level for the March 17
employment survey week was revised up to 364,000. The number for the
March 10 week rose to 363,000 from the 353,000 originally reported.

A Labor Department analyst said that claims from Alaska and Hawaii
were estimated, but otherwise there was nothing unusual in the state
level data.

The analyst said seasonal factors had expected a slight increase of
about 1.5% or 4,700 in unadjusted initial claims in the March 24 week.
Instead, the unadjusted claims were virtually unchanged, down a mere 33
to a level of 319,349. Unadjusted claims were at a level of 357,457 in
the comparable week a year ago.

The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week moving average was
365,000 in the March 24 week, a decline of 3,500 from the previous week.

The state data released for the March 17 week indicated unadjusted
initial claims increased in 11 states and declined in 42 states. The
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands are included in
this data.

Continuing claims fell 41,000 to 3.340 million after seasonal
adjustment in the March 17 employment survey week, the lowest level
since 3.330 million continuing claims were reported in the August 9,
2008 week. Continuing claims in the March 10 week were revised up
to 3.381 million from 3.352 million initially reported.

The level of claims in the March survey week was 87,000 below the
3.427 million level in the February 18 employment survey week,
suggesting continued improvement in the employment picture.

Unadjusted continuing claims plummeted by 129,932 to 3,683,943 in
the March 17 week and were well below the 4,131,066 level in the
comparable week a year earlier.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate fell to 2.6% in
the March 17 week from 2.7% in the previous week, and was down sharply
from the 3.0% rate 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 the level of unadjusted Emergency
Unemployment Compensation benefits claims fell by 43,018 in the March 10
week, bringing that category to 2,809,365. Extended benefits claims
declined by 35,705 to 425,920 not seasonally adjusted in the same week.

The Labor Department reported that a total of 7,153,252 persons
claimed unemployment benefits in the March 10 week, a decline of 131,488
from the previous week and well below the 8,770,443 persons 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.

** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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