News Release
U.S. Department of Labor Office of Public Affairs Washington, D.C.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

          SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending June 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 456,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 459,000. The 4-week moving average was 463,000, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 460,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending May 29, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate of 3.7 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 29 was 4,462,000, a decrease of 255,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,717,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,617,500, a decrease of 49,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,666,750.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.120 million. 

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.3 percent during the week ending May 29, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 4,176,069, a decrease of 201,376 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 4.6 percent and the volume was 6,144,006.

Extended benefits were available in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin during the week ending May 22.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,966 in the week ending May 29, an increase of 382 from the prior week. There were 2,405 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 199 from the preceding week.

There were 17,215 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending May 22, an increase of 158 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 37,212, an increase of 252 from the prior week.

States reported 4,995,133 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending May 22, a decrease of 10,588 from the prior week. There were 2,256,591 claimants in the comparable week in 2009. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending May 22 were in Puerto Rico (6.2 percent), Alaska (5.5), Oregon (5.3), California (4.8), Nevada (4.7), Pennsylvania (4.6), North Carolina (4.3), Wisconsin (4.2), Connecticut (4.1), New Jersey (4.0), and Rhode Island (4.0).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 29 were in Florida (+3,460), California (+2,081), Arizona (+1,521), Georgia (+1,158), and Illinois (+909), while the largest decreases were in Wisconsin (-1,628), Texas (-1,063), Virginia (-912), Missouri (-751), and New Jersey (-693).

UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED 05/29/2010 

This information will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-693-4676. TDD Message Phone: 1-800-326-2577.  News releases from the U.S. Department of Labor are accessible on the Internet at: http://www.dol.gov/ and  https://oui.doleta.gov/