In the week ending September 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 306,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 308,000. The 4-week moving average was 312,750, a decrease of 4,250 from the previous week's revised average of 317,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent for the week ending September 13, unchanged from the prior week's revised rate of 1.9 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending September 13 was 2,217,000 a decrease of 38,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,255,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,280,750, a decrease of 23,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,303,750.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 245,438 in the week ending September 20, a decrease of 7,848 from the previous week. There were 273,242 initial claims in the comparable week in 1996.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.6 percent during the week ending September 13, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 1,868,543, a decrease of 82,051 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 1.8 percent and the volume was 2,077,963.

Extended benefits were available in Puerto Rico during the week ending September 6.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 2,019 in the week ending September 13, an increase of 326 from the prior week. There were 1,845 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 178 from the preceding week.

There were 21,971 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending September 6, an increase of 503 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 18,181, a decrease of 92 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending September 6 were in Puerto Rico (5.9 percent), Alaska (3.3), Rhode Island (2.8), California (2.7), Hawaii (2.7), New Jersey (2.5), Arkansas (2.4), Washington (2.4), Pennsylvania (2.3), and Oregon (2.2).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending September 13 were in California (+5,381), South Carolina (+3,782), North Carolina (+3,739), New York (+2,936), and Michigan (+1,860), while the largest decreases were in Texas (—1,357), Louisiana (—319), Oregon (—298), Arkansas (—253), and Wisconsin (—216).

September 25, 1997 U.S. Department of Labor

Consensus National Futures and Financial On Line Index

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