News Release

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TRANSMISSION OF MATERIALS IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL
8:30 A.M. (Eastern) Thursday, April 16, 2020
COVID-19 Impact
The COVID-19 virus continues to impact the number of initial claims and insured unemployment.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending April 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 5,245,000, a decrease of
1,370,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 9,000 from 6,606,000 to
6,615,000. The 4-week moving average was 5,508,500, an increase of 1,240,750 from the previous week's revised
average. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,250 from 4,265,500 to 4,267,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 8.2 percent for the week ending April 4, an increase
of 3.1 percentage points from the previous week's unrevised rate. This marks the highest level of the seasonally adjusted
insured unemployment rate in the history of the seasonally adjusted series. The previous high was 7.0 percent in May of
1975.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 4 was 11,976,000, an
increase of 4,530,000 from the previous week's revised level. This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted insured
unemployment in the history of the seasonally adjusted series. The previous week's level was revised down by 9,000
from 7,455,000 to 7,446,000. The 4-week moving average was 6,066,250, an increase of 2,568,500 from the previous
week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 2,250 from 3,500,000 to 3,497,750.

1

 UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 4,971,823 in the week ending April
11, a decrease of 1,239,576 (or -20.0 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of
59,534 (or 1.0 percent) from the previous week. There were 196,364 initial claims in the comparable week in 2019.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 8.6 percent during the week ending April 4, an increase of 3.0
percentage points from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state
programs totaled 12,526,711, an increase of 4,358,440 (or 53.4 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors
had expected a decrease of 379,746 (or -4.6 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.2 percent and
the volume was 1,730,108.

2

 The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending March 28 was 8,206,806, an increase
of 4,759,027 from the previous week. There were 1,890,578 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable
week in 2019.
No state was triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program during the week ending March 28.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 3,395 in the week ending April 4, an
increase of 944 from the prior week. There were 2,044 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of
292 from the preceding week.
There were 11,008 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 28, an increase of
1,630 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 6,328, an increase of 849 from the
prior week.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 28 were in Rhode Island (11.9), Pennsylvania (9.8),
Nevada (9.6), Washington (9.3), Connecticut (8.9), Massachusetts (8.7), Minnesota (8.7), Michigan (8.5), Ohio (8.4), and
Georgia (8.2).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 4 were in Georgia (+256,312), Michigan (+84,219),
Arizona (+43,488), Texas (+38,982), and Virginia (+34,872), while the largest decreases were in California (-139,511),
Pennsylvania (-127,037), Florida (-58,599), Ohio (-48,097), and Massachusetts (-41,776).

3

 UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS
WEEK ENDING
Initial Claims (SA)
Initial Claims (NSA)
4-Wk Moving Average (SA)
WEEK ENDING
Insured Unemployment (SA)
Insured Unemployment (NSA)
4-Wk Moving Average (SA)
Insured Unemployment Rate (SA)2
Insured Unemployment Rate (NSA)2

April 11
5,245,000
4,971,823
5,508,500
April 4

April 4
6,615,000
6,211,399
4,267,750
March 28

Change
-1,370,000
-1,239,576
+1,240,750
Change

March 28
6,867,000
6,015,821
2,666,750
March 21

Prior Year1
203,000
196,364
208,000
Prior Year1

11,976,000
12,526,711
6,066,250
8.2%
8.6%

7,446,000
8,168,271
3,497,750
5.1%
5.6%

+4,530,000
+4,358,440
+2,568,500
+3.1
+3.0

3,059,000
3,416,645
2,061,000
2.1%
2.4%

1,667,000
1,730,108
1,705,750
1.2%
1.2%

INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)
WEEK ENDING
Federal Employees (UCFE)
Newly Discharged Veterans (UCX)

April 4
3,395
2,044

March 28
2,451
1,752

Change
+944
+292

Prior Year1
552
553

Change
+4,746,919
+1,630
+849
0
+208
+9,421
+4,759,027

Prior Year1
1,859,082
10,434
5,879
0
6,117
9,066
1,890,578

PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN ALL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)
WEEK ENDING
Regular State
Federal Employees
Newly Discharged Veterans
Extended Benefits3
State Additional Benefits4
STC / Workshare 5
TOTAL

March 28
8,157,940
11,008
6,328
0
5,657
25,873
8,206,806

March 21
3,411,021
9,378
5,479
0
5,449
16,452
3,447,779

FOOTNOTES
SA - Seasonally Adjusted Data, NSA - Not Seasonally Adjusted Data
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

Prior year is comparable to most recent data.
Most recent week used covered employment of 145,671,710 as denominator.
Information on the EB program can be found here: EB Program information
Some states maintain additional benefit programs for those claimants who exhaust regular benefits, and when applicable,
extended benefits. Information on states that participate, and the extent of benefits paid, can be found starting on page 4-4 of
this link: Extensions and Special Programs PDF
Information on STC/Worksharing can be found starting on page 4-8 of the following link: Extensions and Special Programs
PDF

4

 Advance State Claims - Not Seasonally Adjusted
STATE
Alabama*
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania**
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virgin Islands
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
US Total

Initial Claims Filed During Week Ended April 11
Advance
Prior Wk
Change
91,079
106,739
-15,660
12,752
14,590
-1,838
97,784
132,428
-34,644
34,635
62,086
-27,451
660,966
918,814
-257,848
105,073
46,326
58,747
33,962
33,464
498
13,272
18,851
-5,579
9,904
15,329
-5,425
181,293
169,885
11,408
317,526
390,132
-72,606
34,693
53,101
-18,408
17,817
30,904
-13,087
141,049
201,041
-59,992
118,184
127,010
-8,826
46,356
64,194
-17,838
30,769
49,306
-18,537
115,763
117,575
-1,812
80,045
100,621
-20,576
13,273
30,910
-17,637
60,823
109,489
-48,666
103,040
139,647
-36,607
219,320
388,554
-169,234
89,634
110,260
-20,626
46,160
45,852
308
95,785
91,458
4,327
13,437
21,244
-7,807
16,391
27,054
-10,663
60,180
79,285
-19,105
23,936
39,202
-15266
140,600
214,836
-74,236
19,494
26,132
-6,638
395,949
344,451
51,498
137,934
137,422
512
10,378
15,125
-4,747
157,218
226,191
-68,973
48,977
60,534
-11,557
50,930
62,788
-11,858
238,357
277,640
-39,283
41,829
66,555
-24,726
22,805
28,243
-5,438
87,686
86,573
1,113
6,152
8,138
-1986
74,772
112,186
-37,414
273,567
315,167
-41,600
24,171
33,040
-8,869
9,478
16,474
-6,996
3
72
-69
106,723
147,369
-40,646
150,516
171,252
-20,736
14,595
14,494
101
69,884
104,823
-34,939
4,904
6,543
-1,639
4,971,823
6,211,399
-1,239,576

Insured Unemployment For Week Ended April 4
Advance
Prior Wk
Change
50,726
52,176
-1,450
35,141
19,845
15,296
116,782
62,597
54,185
64,356
36,499
27,857
1,440,181
1,076,761
363,420
166,170
73,584
92,586
191,593
147,939
43,654
36,134
19,442
16,692
40,440
31,385
9,055
339,150
98,921
240,229
594,028
360,077
233,951
48,473
32,123
16,350
58,338
35,915
22,423
453,946
263,057
190,889
152,605
71,737
80,868
128,819
91,631
37,188
79,016
51,425
27,591
181,130
130,151
50,979
213,338
116,690
96,648
55,033
41,339
13,694
159,533
92,082
67,451
358,758
310,211
48,547
744,654
366,426
378,228
346,689
248,023
98,666
59,413
29,373
30,040
177,479
121,467
56,012
54,137
36,819
17,318
59,295
38,921
20,374
186,619
131,121
55,498
81,312
52,166
29,146
431,254
276,119
155,135
64,651
44,829
19,822
1,126,867
712,544
414,323
359,151
245,692
113,459
26,628
16,036
10,592
618,679
450,061
168,618
87,512
55,029
32,483
269,538
118,729
150,809
621,798
566,464
55,334
84,421
49,669
34,752
71,944
56,038
15,906
125,376
75,521
49,855
4,453
7,568
-3,115
206,622
116,179
90,443
635,516
374,656
260,860
68,207
45,161
23,046
31,377
21,953
9,424
782
658
124
237,367
133,184
104,183
451,054
309,411
141,643
53,993
36,690
17,303
263,863
208,387
55,476
12,370
7,790
4,580
12,526,711
8,168,271
4,358,440

Note: Advance claims are not directly comparable to claims reported in prior weeks. Advance claims are reported by the
state liable for paying the unemployment compensation, whereas previous weeks reported claims reflect claimants by
state of residence. In addition, claims reported as "workshare equivalent" in the previous week are added to the advance
claims as a proxy for the current week's "workshare equivalent" activity.
*Denotes OUI estimate.
**Denotes state estimate.
5

 Seasonally Adjusted US Weekly UI Claims (in thousands)

Week Ending
April 6, 2019
April 13, 2019
April 20, 2019
April 27, 2019
May 4, 2019
May 11, 2019
May 18, 2019
May 25, 2019
June 1, 2019
June 8, 2019
June 15, 2019
June 22, 2019
June 29, 2019
July 6, 2019
July 13, 2019
July 20, 2019
July 27, 2019
August 3, 2019
August 10, 2019
August 17, 2019
August 24, 2019
August 31, 2019
September 7, 2019
September 14, 2019
September 21, 2019
September 28, 2019
October 5, 2019
October 12, 2019
October 19, 2019
October 26, 2019
November 2, 2019
November 9, 2019
November 16, 2019
November 23, 2019
November 30, 2019
December 7, 2019
December 14, 2019
December 21, 2019
December 28, 2019
January 4, 2020
January 11, 2020
January 18, 2020
January 25, 2020
February 1, 2020
February 8, 2020
February 15, 2020
February 22, 2020
February 29, 2020
March 7, 2020
March 14, 2020
March 21, 2020
March 28, 2020
April 4, 2020
April 11, 2020

Initial
Claims
203
203
226
230
225
217
213
218
220
220
219
224
222
211
217
211
216
214
218
215
215
219
208
211
215
218
212
218
213
217
212
222
223
211
206
237
229
218
220
212
207
220
212
201
204
215
220
217
211
282
3,307
6,867
6,615
5,245

Change
from
Prior
Week
-8
0
23
4
-5
-8
-4
5
2
0
-1
5
-2
-11
6
-6
5
-2
4
-3
0
4
-11
3
4
3
-6
6
-5
4
-5
10
1
-12
-5
31
-8
-11
2
-8
-5
13
-8
-11
3
11
5
-3
-6
71
3,025
3,560
-252
-1,370

Change
from
Insured
Prior
Unemployment Week
1,667
-38
1,659
-8
1,682
23
1,684
2
1,678
-6
1,683
5
1,675
-8
1,695
20
1,700
5
1,677
-23
1,692
15
1,699
7
1,717
18
1,694
-23
1,682
-12
1,699
17
1,692
-7
1,719
27
1,687
-32
1,699
12
1,683
-16
1,683
0
1,675
-8
1,672
-3
1,667
-5
1,698
31
1,689
-9
1,691
2
1,700
9
1,695
-5
1,702
7
1,697
-5
1,665
-32
1,697
32
1,700
3
1,725
25
1,716
-9
1,728
12
1,775
47
1,759
-16
1,735
-24
1,704
-31
1,753
49
1,678
-75
1,729
51
1,693
-36
1,720
27
1,699
-21
1,702
3
1,784
82
3,059
1,275
7,446
4,387
11,976
4,530

4-Week
Average
212.00
208.00
210.75
215.50
221.00
224.50
221.25
218.25
217.00
217.75
219.25
220.75
221.25
219.00
218.50
215.25
213.75
214.50
214.75
215.75
215.50
216.75
214.25
213.25
213.25
213.00
214.00
215.75
215.25
215.00
215.00
216.00
218.50
217.00
215.50
219.25
220.75
222.50
226.00
219.75
214.25
214.75
212.75
210.00
209.25
208.00
210.00
214.00
215.75
232.50
1,004.25
2,666.75
4,267.75
5,508.50

6

4-Week
Average
1,705.75
1,687.50
1,678.25
1,673.00
1,675.75
1,681.75
1,680.00
1,682.75
1,688.25
1,686.75
1,691.00
1,692.00
1,696.25
1,700.50
1,698.00
1,698.00
1,691.75
1,698.00
1,699.25
1,699.25
1,697.00
1,688.00
1,685.00
1,678.25
1,674.25
1,678.00
1,681.50
1,686.25
1,694.50
1,693.75
1,697.00
1,698.50
1,689.75
1,690.25
1,689.75
1,696.75
1,709.50
1,717.25
1,736.00
1,744.50
1,749.25
1,743.25
1,737.75
1,717.50
1,716.00
1,713.25
1,705.00
1,710.25
1,703.50
1,726.25
2,061.00
3,497.75
6,066.25

IUR
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
2.1
5.1
8.2

 INITIAL CLAIMS FILED DURING WEEK ENDED
APRIL 4
CHANGE FROM

STATE NAME
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virgin Islands
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Totals

STATE
106739
14590
132428
62086
918814
46326
33464
18851
15329
169885
390132
53101
30904
201041
127010
64194
49306
117575
100621
30910
109489
139647
388554
110260
45852
91458
21244
27054
79285
39202
214836
26132
344451
137422
15125
226191
60534
62788
277640
66555
28243
86573
8138
112186
315167
33040
16474
72
147369
171252
14494
104823
6543
6211399

LAST
WEEK
25755
816
43488
34330
-139511
-15512
237
-286
-540
-58599
256312
4505
-2037
22620
-12164
8228
-5024
4426
3221
7140
24172
-41776
84219
1165
13837
-12833
481
2329
7343
7824
8583
-1717
-22144
-34723
3307
-48097
12790
15290
-127037
21161
443
20098
1337
19686
38982
4508
1841
-178
34872
-11597
-29
-6111
147
195578

YEAR
AGO UCFE 1
103848
86
13699
5
127399
24
59836
6
882587 149
44423
26
31135
7
18381
6
14890
160
163483 100
385490
73
51816
2
29987
17
192165
22
123972
21
62414
37
47949
3
114801
3
98965
60
30171
1
107007
30
135351
62
381872 172
107124
24
44903
10
88819
16
20505
56
26465
18
77277
9
38705
18
207129
66
25258
5
331848
45
134283
74
14853
25
220180
29
58510
56
58320
22
266513 1326
65392
15
27574
4
84464
32
7995
11
107868
84
302074 222
32014
31
15955
1
35
0
145214
25
164953
36
13816
5
99442
43
6199
15
6015328 3395

UCX 1
36
0
24
3
72
30
3
6
1
94
29
8
8
13
28
15
1
2
34
1
60
48
228
22
5
5
15
7
7
8
9
5
21
76
6
154
36
12
404
12
4
28
3
51
252
11
0
0
36
80
10
18
3
2044

INSURED UNEMPLOYMENT FOR WEEK ENDED
MARCH 28
CHANGE FROM
ALL PROGRAMS
EXCLUDING
LAST YEAR
RAILROAD
STATE (%) 2 WEEK
AGO UCFE 1 UCX 1 RETIREMENT
52176 2.7
34093
37595
52
36
52264
19845 6.5
8672
11262
112
19
19976
62597 2.2
36210
43842
194
49
62840
36499 3.1
20351
26711
65
37
36601
1076761 6.2 676196 702938 2101 1031
1079893
73584 2.8
51628
52849
258
158
74000
147939 8.9
67078 111847
56
61
148056
19442 4.4
7936
14627
8
10
19460
31385 5.4
13724
24632
269
5
31659
98921 1.1
63845
65668
120
77
99118
360077 8.2 252200 337057
242
161
360480
32123 5.2
21141
25499
79
58
32260
35915 4.9
20392
28488
180
25
36120
263057 4.5 130943 143900
326
138
263521
71737 2.4
42750
52977
37
45
71819
91631 6.0
37981
67992
70
35
91736
51425 3.8
33867
42782
30
29
51484
130151 7.0 105790 112064
157
111
130419
116690 6.2
58663 103022
47
15
116752
41339 6.9
19372
33726
17
0
41356
92082 3.6
44109
65523
186
87
92355
310211 8.7 127106 239220
135
120
310466
366426 8.5 278243 295060
212
102
366740
248023 8.7
87150 193462
131
74
248228
29373 2.6
19792
22697
63
30
29466
121467 4.4
71997 100900
100
45
121612
36819 8.1
17720
27391
423
33
37275
38921 4.0
22280
33843
26
7
38954
131121 9.6
72323 112823
177
43
131341
52166 8.0
24845
48068
18
8
52192
276119 6.9 119938 180302
215
260
276594
44829 5.6
24742
35436
137
39
45005
712544 7.6 397834 572533
347
329
713220
245692 5.6 170472 226263
181
204
246077
16036 3.9
7502
11023
11
9
16056
450061 8.4 235788 390471
146
264
450471
55029 3.5
29761
41382
63
54
55146
118729 6.2
54799
88693
515
70
119314
566464 9.8 430756 449333 1518 357
568339
49669 5.8
30439
34145
139
83
49891
56038 11.9 24191
45926
21
6
56065
75521 3.6
45180
61482
34
62
75617
7568
1.8
4030
4902
45
3
7616
116179 3.9
78638
99398
99
70
116348
374656 3.1 229959 262942
578
975
376209
45161 3.1
20526
36161
164
23
45348
21953 7.2
8156
17278
8
3
21964
658
1.9
146
294
0
0
658
133184 3.6
91357 113294
200
226
133610
309411 9.3 151386 255787
477
548
310436
36690 5.5
15545
25724
52
45
36787
208387 7.3 108813 170083
103
41
208531
7790
2.9
3271
5264
64
8
7862
8168271 5.6 4751626 6306581 11008 6328
8185607

Figures appearing in columns showing over-the-week changes reflect all revisions in data for prior week submitted by
state agencies.
1. The Unemployment Compensation program for Federal Employees (UCFE) and the Unemployment Compensation for
Ex-servicemembers (UCX) exclude claims filed jointly under other programs to avoid duplication.
2. Rate is not seasonally adjusted. The source of U.S. total covered employment is BLS.
7

 UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED April 4, 2020

STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000
State
GA

Change
+256,312

MI

+84,219

AZ
TX

+43,488
+38,982

VA
AR
AL

+34,872
+34,330
+25,755

MD
IL

+24,172
+22,620

PR
SC
TN

+21,161
+20,098
+19,686

OR
MS
OK
NJ

+15,290
+13,837
+12,790
+8,583

IA

+8,228

NH
NV
ME

+7,824
+7,343
+7,140

UT
HI
KY
ND
LA
NE
VT
SD
MN

+4,508
+4,505
+4,426
+3,307
+3,221
+2,329
+1,841
+1,337
+1,165

State Supplied Comment
Layoffs in the accommodation and food services, trade, health care and social assistance,
administrative, support, waste management, and remediation services, and manufacturing
industries.
Layoffs in the accommodation and food services, retail trade, wholesale trade, and
administrative, support, waste management, and remediation services industries.
No comment.
Layoffs in the mining, accommodation and food services, manufacturing, health care and
social assistance, information, retail trade, administrative, support, waste management, and
remediation services, other services, wholesale trade, and arts, entertainment, and recreation
industries.
Layoffs in the mining industry.
No comment.
Layoffs in the retail trade, health care and social assistance, administrative, support, waste
management, and remediation services, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and
wholesale trade industries. Increase in initial claims due to COVID-19.
No comment.
Layoffs in the other services, wholesale trade, retail trade, and accommodation and food
services industries.
Increase in initial claims due to COVID-19.
No comment.
Layoffs in the accommodation and food services, retail trade, health care and social assistance,
other services, and administrative, support, waste management, and remediation services
industries. Increase in initial claims due to COVID-19.
Increase in initial claims due to COVID-19.
No comment.
No comment.
Layoffs in the accommodation and food services, health care and social assistance, and trade
industries. Increase in initial claims due to COVID-19.
Layoffs in the accommodation and food services, manufacturing, administrative, support,
waste management, and remediation services, and construction industries. Increase in initial
claims due to COVID-19.
Increase in initial claims due to COVID-19.
Increase in initial claims due to COVID-19.
Layoffs in the retail trade, health care and social assistance, accommodation and food services,
manufacturing, educational services, other services, arts, entertainment, and recreation,
administrative, support, waste management, and remediation services, construction, and
professional, scientific, and technical services industries. Increase in initial claims due to
COVID-19.
No comment.
Increase in initial claims due to COVID-19.
No comment.
Increase in initial claims due to COVID-19.
No comment.
No comment.
Increase in initial claims due to COVID-19.
Increase in initial claims due to COVID-19.
Increase in initial claims due to COVID-19.

8

 STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000
State
CA
PA

Change
-139,511
-127,037

FL

-58,599

OH
MA
NC

-48,097
-41,776
-34,723

NY

-22,144

CO
MO

-15,512
-12,833

IN
WA
WI
KS
ID
NM

-12,164
-11,597
-6,111
-5,024
-2,037
-1,717

State Supplied Comment
Fewer layoffs in the construction and manufacturing industries.
Fewer layoffs in the transportation and warehousing, accommodation and food services, and
manufacturing industries.
Fewer layoff in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting, construction, service, and
manufacturing industries.
No comment.
No comment.
Fewer layoffs in the accommodation and food services, other services, and administrative,
support, waste management, and remediation services industries.
Fewer layoffs in the accommodation and food services, manufacturing, and health care and
social assistance industries.
No comment.
Fewer layoffs in the manufacturing, accommodation and food services, and transportation and
warehousing industries.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.

9

 TECHNICAL NOTES
This news release presents the weekly unemployment insurance (UI) claims reported by each state's unemployment
insurance program offices. These claims may be used for monitoring workload volume, assessing state program
operations and for assessing labor market conditions. States initially report claims directly taken by the state liable for the
benefit payments, regardless of where the claimant who filed the claim resided. These are the basis for the advance initial
claims and continued claims reported each week. These data come from ETA 538, Advance Weekly Initial and
Continued Claims Report. The following week initial claims and continued claims are revised based on a second
reporting by states that reflect the claimants by state of residence. These data come from the ETA 539, Weekly Claims
and Extended Benefits Trigger Data Report.
A. Initial Claims
An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The claimant requests
a determination of basic eligibility for the UI program. When an initial claim is filed with a state, certain programmatic
activities take place and these result in activity counts including the count of initial claims. The count of U.S. initial
claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market
conditions in the country. However, these are weekly administrative data which are difficult to seasonally adjust, making
the series subject to some volatility.
B. Continued Weeks Claimed
A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment then files a continued
claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. Continued claims are also referred to as insured unemployment.
The count of U.S. continued weeks claimed is also a good indicator of labor market conditions. Continued claims reflect
the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for UI benefits in the nation. While continued claims are not a
leading indicator (they roughly coincide with economic cycles at their peaks and lag at cycle troughs), they provide
confirming evidence of the direction of the U.S. economy.
C. Seasonal Adjustments and Annual Revisions
Over the course of a year, the weekly changes in the levels of initial claims and continued claims undergo regularly
occurring fluctuations. These fluctuations may result from seasonal changes in weather, major holidays, the opening and
closing of schools, or other similar events. Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year,
their influence on the level of a series can be tempered by adjusting for regular seasonal variation. These adjustments
make trend and cycle developments easier to spot. At the beginning of each calendar year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
provides the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) with a set of seasonal factors to apply to the unadjusted
data during that year. Concurrent with the implementation and release of the new seasonal factors, ETA incorporates
revisions to the UI claims historical series caused by updates to the unadjusted data.

Weekly Claims Archives
Weekly Claims Data
U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The Department's Reasonable Accommodation
Resource Center converts Departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large
print. For alternative format requests, please contact the Department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal
relay).

U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
Washington, D.C. 20210
Release Number: USDL 20-632-NAT

Program Contacts:
Kevin Stapleton: (202) 321-2810
Media Contact:
(202) 693-4676

10