Seasonally adjusted data: In the week ending May 18, the advance number for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 215,000, down .8000 from the level of the previous week. The previous week’s level was revised upward by 1,000 from 222,000 to 223,000. The 4-week moving average was 219,750, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week’s revised average. the previous
The week’s average was revised 250 from 217,750 to 218,000. The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending May 11, unchanged from the previous week’s unadjusted rate. The advance figure for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 11 was 1,794,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised level. last week
The level was revised down by 8,000 from 1,794,000 to 1,786,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,782,250, up from 5,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 2000 from 1,779,250 to 1,777,250.
Unadjusted data: The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, was 192,017 in the week ending in May, a decrease of 5,663 (or -2.9 percent) from the previous week. Seasonal factors expected an increase of 1,114 (or 0.6 percent) over the previous week. There were 201,921 initial claims in the comparable week of 2023.
The unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.1 percent during the week ending May 11, unchanged from the previous week. The advance unadjusted level of unemployment insured in state programs was 1,693,844, up from 7,683 (or 0.5 percent) from the previous week. Seasonal factors did not predict any change in the unadjusted data from the previous week. A year ago, the rate was 1.1 percent and volume was 1,610,901.
Total initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits
The total number of continuous weeks claimed for benefits across all programs for the week ending May 4 was 1,710,931, A decrease of 57,482 from the previous week. 1,637,970 weekly claims were filed for benefits across all programs in Similar week in 2023. No Extended Benefits status was activated during the week ending May 4.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed by former federal civilian employees totaled 386 in the week ending May 11, an increase of 1 from the previous week. There were 405 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 17 from the previous week.
There were 4,737 continuing weeks claimed by former federal civilian employees in the week ending May 4, a decrease of 27 from the previous week. The total number of newly discharged veterans claiming benefits was 4,260, a decrease of 79 from
The last week.
The highest rates of insured unemployment in the week ending May 4 were in New Jersey (2.3), California (2.2), Rhode Island (1.7), Massachusetts (1.6), Nevada (1.6), New York (1.6), Washington (1.6), and Alaska. (1.5), Illinois (1.5), Minnesota (1.5), and Puerto Rico (1.5.) The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 11 were in Florida (+1,331), Pennsylvania (+924), Minnesota (+542), and Louisiana (+537), and Massachusetts (+363), while the largest declines were in New York (-9,543.), Illinois (-2,567), California (-1,189), Indiana (-1,079), and Michigan (-513).
Claims submitted cannot be directly compared to claims reported in previous weeks. Advance claims are reported by the state responsible for paying unemployment compensation, while claims reported in prior weeks reflect claimants’ place of residence. Additionally, claims reported as Work Share Equivalent in the previous week are added to the claims advance as a replacement for the current week’s Work Share Equivalent activity.
Technical notes
This news release presents the weekly Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims reported by each state’s unemployment insurance program offices. These claims can be used to monitor workload size, evaluate state program operations, and evaluate labor market conditions. States initially report claims taken by the state directly responsible for damages and benefit payments, regardless of the residence of the claimant filing the claim. These are the basis for initial claims progress and ongoing claims that are reported each week.
1: Initial claims: An initial claim is a claim submitted by an unemployed individual after separating from his employer. Plaintiff requests a determination of basic eligibility for the UI program. When an initial claim is submitted to the state, it is programmatic and activities occur and this results in numbers of activities including the number of initial claims. The initial count of US unemployment insurance claims is considered a leading economic indicator because it is an indicator of emerging labor market conditions in the country. However, this is weekly administrative data that is difficult to adjust seasonally and the series is subject to some fluctuations.
2: Continuing Weeks Claimed: A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment files a continuing claim and claims benefits for that week of unemployment. On a weekly basis, continuing claims are also referred to as insured unemployment, as continuing claims reflect a good estimate of the current number of unemployed insured workers filing for UI benefits. The number of continuous weeks in the United States is also a good indicator of the job market
3: Seasonal adjustments and annual reviews: Throughout the year, weekly changes in the levels of initial claims and continuing claims are subject to regular fluctuations that occur.
