In the week ending August 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 337,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 317,000. The 4-week moving average was 308,000, an increase of 9,500 from the previous week's revised average of 298,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.0 percent for the week ending August 9, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 1.9 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 9 was 2,305,000 an increase of 75,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,230,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,290,000, a decrease of 6,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,296,250.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 271,287 in the week ending August 16, a decrease of 17,627 from the previous week. There were 265,752 initial claims in the comparable week in 1996.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.8 percent during the week ending August 9, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,129,736, an increase of 9,241 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.0 percent and the volume was 2,317,551.

Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending August 2.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,893 in the week ending August 9, an increase of 115 from the prior week. There were 2,074 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 251 from the preceding week.

There were 24,087 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending August 2, an increase of 994 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 18,873, a decrease of 220 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending August 2 were in Puerto Rico (7.2 percent), Alaska (3.4), Rhode Island (3.4), Hawaii (2.9), New Jersey (2.7), Pennsylvania (2.6), Washington (2.6), California (2.5), Arkansas (2.4), and Oregon (2.4).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 9 were in Texas (+3,659), California (+3,014), Pennsylvania (+1,548), New York (+1,228), and North Carolina (+1,225), while the largest decreases were in Missouri (—2,279), Tennessee (—1,480), Alabama (—1,325), Ohio (—654), and Louisiana (—355).

August 21, 1997 U.S. Department of Labor

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