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

Note: This week's release reflects the annual revision to the weekly unemployment claims seasonal adjusted factors. The historical factors from 2006 forward have been revised. The calendar year 2011 factors can be accessed at the following link: https://oui.doleta.gov/press/2011/033111.asp

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

          SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending March 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 388,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 394,000. The 4-week moving average was 394,250, a increase of 3,250 from the previous week's revised average of 391,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.0 percent for the week ending March 19, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.0 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 19 was 3,714,000, a decrease of 51,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,765,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,765,250, a decrease of 32,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,798,000.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.3 percent during the week ending March 19, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 4,111,925, a decrease of 165,167 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 4.0 percent and the volume was 5,207,496.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending March 12 was 8,770,443.

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, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, during the week ending March 12.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,566 in the week ending March 19, a decrease of 61 from the prior week. There were 2,110 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 208 from the preceding week.

There were 40,164 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 12, an increase of 725 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 38,651, a decrease of 477 from the prior week.

States reported 3,588,816 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending March 12, a decrease of 38,838 from the prior week. There were 5,891,783 claimants in the comparable week in 2010. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 12 were in Alaska (6.5 percent), Pennsylvania (5.1), Idaho (4.9), Montana (4.9), Puerto Rico (4.9), Rhode Island (4.9), Oregon (4.7), Wisconsin (4.7), New Jersey (4.6), California (4.4), Connecticut (4.4), and Illinois (4.4).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 19 were in North Carolina (+974), Missouri (+907), Tennessee (+474), Louisiana (+424), and Iowa (+334), while the largest decreases were in Illinois (-2,696), California (-2,150), Pennsylvania (-2,145), Ohio (-1,320), and Washington
(-1,215).

UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED 03/19/2011 

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/