The U.S. Department of Labor this morning released the number of people claiming unemployment benefits and insurance, which keeps growing, meaning we are still in recession. The four week moving average of the seasonally adjusted data of weekly unemployment insurance claims is 639,000.
In the week ending Feb. 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 667,000, an increase of 36,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 631,000. The 4-week moving average was 639,000, an increase of 19,000 from the previous week's revised average of 620,000.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.8 percent for the week ending Feb. 14, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.7 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Feb. 14 was 5,112,000, an increase of 114,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,998,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,932,250, an increase of 89,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,843,000.
The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 4.466 million.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 602,730 in the week ending Feb. 21, a decrease of 17,221 from the previous week. There were 329,925 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.6 percent during the week ending Feb. 14, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 6,098,530, an increase of 126,384 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5 percent and the volume was 3,298,510.
Extended benefits were available in Alaska, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island during the week ending Feb. 7.
Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,244 in the week ending Feb. 14, a decrease of 252 from the prior week. There were 1,941 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 75 from the preceding week.
There were 19,559 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Feb. 7, a decrease of 1,675 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 28,129, an increase of 97 from the prior week.
States reported 1,393,834 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Feb. 7, a decrease of 157,312 from the prior week.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Feb. 7 were in Michigan (7.5 percent), Oregon (7.3), Idaho (7.0), Wisconsin (6.4), Pennsylvania (6.2), Nevada (5.9), Montana (5.7), Rhode Island (5.7), Alaska (5.6), Indiana (5.5), and New Jersey (5.5).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Feb. 14 were in New Jersey (+2,093), Virginia (+912), Rhode Island (+493), Vermont (+106), and South Dakota (+22), while the largest decreases were in California (-16,550), Kentucky (-7,741), Pennsylvania (-6,547), Illinois (-6,248), and New York (-3,955).
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