Seasonally Adjusted Data

In the week ending March 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 310,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 314,000. The 4-week moving average was 311,250, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 312,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.0 percent for the week ending March 15, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.0 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 15 was 2,281,000, a decrease of 29,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,310,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,319,500, a decrease of 31,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,350,500.

Unadjusted Data

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 290,291 in the week ending March 22, a decrease of 6,586 from the previous week. There were 396,727 initial claims in the comparable week in 1996.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent during the week ending March 15, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,745,973, a decrease of 58,395 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.8 percent and the volume was 3,145,405.

Extended benefits were available in Alaska during the week ending March 8.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,461 in the week ending March 15, a decrease of 89 from the prior week. There were 1,798 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 181 from the preceding week.

There were 23,489 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 8, a decrease of 2,923 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 22,010, a decrease of 612 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 8 were in Alaska (7.1 percent), Puerto Rico (5.2), Rhode Island (4.6), Idaho (4.0), Montana (4.0), Maine (3.8), Oregon (3.7), Pennsylvania (3.6), Washington (3.6), California (3.5), Vermont (3.5), and West Virginia (3.5).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 15 were in Arkansas (+1,528), Tennessee (+1,319), North Carolina (+1,157), Texas (+523), and Wisconsin (+359), while the largest decreases were in California (!5,891), Pennsylvania (!2,275), New York (!1,950), Ohio (!1,793), and Missouri (!984).

March 27, 1997 U.S. Department of Labor

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