News Release

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TRANSMISSION OF MATERIALS IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL
8:30 A.M. (Eastern) Thursday, May 7, 2020
COVID-19 Impact
The COVID-19 virus continues to impact the number of initial claims and insured unemployment.
This report now includes information on claimants filing Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation claims.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending May 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 3,169,000, a decrease of 677,000
from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 7,000 from 3,839,000 to 3,846,000. The
4-week moving average was 4,173,500, a decrease of 861,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous
week's average was revised up by 1,750 from 5,033,250 to 5,035,000.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 15.5 percent for the week ending April 25, an increase of
3.1 percentage points from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured
unemployment during the week ending April 25 was 22,647,000, an increase of 4,636,000 from the previous week's revised
level. The previous week's level was revised up 19,000 from 17,992,000 to 18,011,000. The 4-week moving average was
17,097,750, an increase of 3,800,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up
by 5,000 from 13,292,500 to 13,297,500.

1

 UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 2,849,090 in the week ending May 2,
a decrease of 646,613 (or -18.5 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 38,457 (or
-1.1 percent) from the previous week. There were 204,033 initial claims in the comparable week in 2019. In addition, in the
23 states reporting data for the week ending May 2, there were 583,699 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment
Assistance.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 15.1 percent during the week ending April 25, an increase of 2.9
percentage points from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs
totaled 22,035,753, an increase of 4,240,777 (or 23.8 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a
decrease of 270,167 (or -1.5 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.1 percent and the volume was
1,633,529.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending April 18 was 18,919,371, an increase of
2,416,289 from the previous week. There were 1,673,740 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 April 18.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,908 in the week ending April 25, a
decrease of 233 from the prior week. There were 1,264 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 251
from the preceding week.

2

 There were 13,758 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending April 18, an increase of 423
from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 8,670, an increase of 468 from the prior week.
During the week ending April 18, eleven states reported 994,850 individuals claiming Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
and seven states reported 52,305 individuals claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending April 18 were in Vermont (25.2), West Virginia (21.9),
Michigan (21.7), Rhode Island (20.4), Nevada (19.9), Connecticut (18.7), Puerto Rico (17.9), Georgia (17.3), New York
(17.2), and Washington (17.1).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 25 were in Washington (+56,030), Georgia (+19,562), New
York (+14,229), Oregon (+12,091), and Alabama (+8,534), while the largest decreases were in California (-203,017),
Florida (-73,567), Connecticut (-69,767), New Jersey (-68,173), and Pennsylvania (-66,698).

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

May 2
3,169,000
2,849,090
4,173,500

April 25
3,846,000
3,495,703
5,035,000

Change
-677,000
-646,613
-861,500

April 18
4,442,000
4,281,648
5,790,250

Prior Year1
225,000
204,033
221,000

April 25
22,647,000
22,035,753
17,097,750
15.5%
15.1%

April 18
18,011,000
17,794,976
13,297,500
12.4%
12.2%

Change
+4,636,000
+4,240,777
+3,800,250
+3.1
+2.9

April 11
15,819,000
16,277,322
9,559,500
10.9%
11.2%

Prior Year1
1,684,000
1,633,529
1,673,000
1.2%
1.1%

INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)
WEEK ENDING
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance

May 2
583,699

April 25
780,866

Change
-197,167

April 18
218,873

WEEK ENDING
Federal Employees (UCFE)
Newly Discharged Veterans (UCX)

April 25
1,908
1,264

April 18
2,141
1,515

Change
-233
-251

Prior Year1
519
487

Change
+1,506,720
+423
+468
+858,433
+24,889
+94
-888
+26,150
+2,416,289

Prior Year1
1,645,408
8,278
5,774
NA
NA
0
5,984
8,296
1,673,740

PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN ALL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)
WEEK ENDING
Regular State
Federal Employees
Newly Discharged Veterans
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance3
Pandemic Emergency UC4
Extended Benefits5
State Additional Benefits6
STC / Workshare 7
TOTAL8

April 18
17,756,054
13,758
8,670
994,850
52,305
325
4,962
88,447
18,919,371

April 11
16,249,334
13,335
8,202
136,417
27,416
231
5,850
62,297
16,503,082

FOOTNOTES
SA - Seasonally Adjusted Data, NSA - Not Seasonally Adjusted Data
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

7.
8.

Prior year is comparable to most recent data.
Most recent week used covered employment of 145,671,710 as denominator.
Information on the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program can be found in UIPL 16-20: PUA Program information
Information on the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program can be found in Unemployment
Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) 17-20: PEUC Program information
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
Totals now include PUA and PEUC continued claims.

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 May 2
Advance
Prior Wk
Change
28,183
74,966
-46,783
9,404
10,313
-909
42,909
52,581
-9,672
12,436
17,671
-5,235
318,064
325,343
-7,279
28,322
38,662
-10,340
36,166
33,041
3,125
6,183
7,947
-1,764
8,133
8,708
-575
173,191
433,103
-259,912
226,884
266,565
-39,681
16,112
22,495
-6,383
7,194
8,827
-1,633
74,476
81,596
-7,120
43,777
55,774
-11,997
24,693
27,220
-2,527
18,281
24,483
-6,202
80,060
91,223
-11,163
52,137
66,141
-14,004
16,175
7,661
8,514
65,262
37,925
27,337
55,448
71,358
-15,910
68,952
82,004
-13,052
47,134
48,595
-1,461
24,810
29,906
-5,096
49,402
55,299
-5,897
4,263
7,052
-2,789
6,555
8,229
-1,674
30,735
42,541
-11,806
11,834
15,001
-3167
87,540
71,966
15,574
16,801
12,093
4,708
195,242
219,413
-24,171
84,716
98,941
-14,225
4,689
6,274
-1,585
61,046
93,599
-32,553
68,237
52,500
15,737
45,102
49,300
-4,198
96,603
127,896
-31,293
21,673
17,286
4,387
9,109
13,084
-3,975
46,747
66,438
-19,691
3,756
5,535
-1779
37,319
42,805
-5,486
247,179
254,084
-6,905
9,057
11,738
-2,681
3,759
5,117
-1,358
11
103
-92
61,138
72,488
-11,350
109,167
139,505
-30,338
12,996
29,818
-16,822
38,002
49,993
-11,991
2,026
3,497
-1,471
2,849,090
3,495,703
-646,613

Insured Unemployment For Week Ended April 25
Advance
Prior Wk
Change
208,163
173,855
34,308
49,497
52,022
-2,525
212,829
196,401
16,428
116,461
109,337
7,124
4,831,022
1,887,575
2,943,447
229,253
228,713
540
302,144
309,111
-6,967
56,248
44,977
11,271
56,751
52,534
4,217
429,515
540,554
-111,039
883,260
758,856
124,404
88,316
68,480
19,836
70,220
71,416
-1,196
697,443
681,041
16,402
281,034
253,929
27,105
181,358
168,971
12,387
127,419
119,022
8,397
256,115
260,792
-4,677
308,154
300,657
7,497
74,811
73,141
1,670
222,484
224,232
-1,748
557,019
532,508
24,511
1,041,344
934,599
106,745
433,052
416,993
16,059
180,034
135,722
44,312
242,013
255,798
-13,785
63,347
67,473
-4,126
65,508
76,628
-11,120
300,153
274,850
25,303
115,473
106,841
8,632
643,825
621,753
22,072
98,608
94,149
4,459
1,755,635
1,616,809
138,826
586,291
555,039
31,252
39,485
35,513
3,972
710,415
777,214
-66,799
154,338
134,550
19,788
488,823
284,486
204,337
1,250,319
915,249
335,070
143,016
153,421
-10,405
99,075
96,663
2,412
258,071
240,956
17,115
23,936
22,707
1,229
333,528
341,033
-7,505
1,150,828
962,122
188,706
92,799
89,495
3,304
60,508
76,457
-15,949
1,884
1,468
416
376,951
341,295
35,656
631,440
573,374
58,066
120,604
146,566
-25,962
315,937
321,063
-5,126
18,997
16,566
2,431
22,035,753
17,794,976
4,240,777

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 state estimate.

5

 Seasonally Adjusted US Weekly UI Claims (in thousands)

Week Ending
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
April 18, 2020
April 25, 2020
May 2, 2020

Initial
Claims
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
5,237
4,442
3,846
3,169

Change
from
Prior
Week
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
-1,378
-795
-596
-677

Change
from
Insured
Prior
Unemployment Week
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
11,914
4,468
15,819
3,905
18,011
2,192
22,647
4,636

4-Week
Average
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
5,506.50
5,790.25
5,035.00
4,173.50

6

4-Week
Average
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
6,050.75
9,559.50
13,297.50
17,097.75

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
2.1
5.1
8.2
10.9
12.4
15.5

 INITIAL CLAIMS FILED DURING WEEK ENDED
APRIL 25
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
74,966
10,313
52,581
17,671
325,343
38,662
33,041
7,947
8,708
433,103
266,565
22,495
8,827
81,596
55,774
27,220
24,483
91,223
66,141
7,661
37,925
71,358
82,004
48,595
29,906
55,299
7,052
8,229
42,541
15,001
71,966
12,093
219,413
98,941
6,274
93,599
52,500
49,300
127,896
17,286
13,084
66,438
5,535
42,805
254,084
11,738
5,117
103
72,488
139,505
29,818
49,993
3,497
3,495,703

LAST
WEEK
8,534
-1,888
-19,876
-7,733
-203,017
-28,977
-69,767
-1,499
69
-73,567
19,562
-4,096
-4,196
-21,340
-16,982
319
-6,113
-12,758
-25,782
-4,108
-10,570
-9,611
-54,703
-26,234
-7,007
-4,303
-4,124
-3,993
3,045
-5,413
-68,173
-1,528
14,229
-7,325
-1,791
-16,231
5,804
12,091
-66,698
-9,195
-4,994
-7,924
240
-24,421
-26,677
-7,911
-1,481
90
-10,241
56,030
-16,937
-5,890
-884
-785,945

YEAR
AGO UCFE 1 UCX 1
73,046
45
26
9,450
9
4
47,278
8
6
16,334
0
3
285,031
243
198
36,717
21
36
27,356
32
7
6,812
1
4
8,315
77
2
427,203
17
14
262,108
81
62
21,221
1
0
8,043
3
1
74,286
8
8
53,574
25
20
25,223
20
2
23,212
3
1
89,507
5
4
64,111
60
26
6,941
1
0
35,393
9
26
66,714
69
41
77,313
36
24
45,928
20
8
28,209
8
1
52,902
4
3
6,196
20
5
7,732
6
3
40,265
9
3
14,138
10
6
58,188
62
50
11,376
6
1
200,833
68
39
96,107
58
71
5,961
8
1
87,940
17
70
50,490
28
15
46,025
20
9
116,079
340
93
15,949
11
7
11,966
15
8
64,319
35
29
5,409
32
7
40,699
41
27
242,000
194
219
10,732
19
2
4,454
0
0
68
0
0
70,426
19
24
134,170
40
30
28,886
3
5
45,102
33
12
3,211
8
1
3,290,948 1,908 1,264

INSURED UNEMPLOYMENT FOR WEEK ENDED
APRIL 18
ALL
CHANGE FROM
PROGRAMS
EXCLUDING
LAST
YEAR
RAILROAD
STATE (%) 2 WEEK
AGO UCFE 1 UCX 1 RETIREMENT
173,855 9.0 29,528
160,228
68
40
173,963
52,022 16.9 3,926
44,418
143
25
52,190
196,401 6.8 26,139
173,489
179
113
196,693
109,337 9.1 18,059
99,495
99
53
109,489
1,887,575 10.9 -534,883 1,554,395 2,050 1,060
1,890,685
228,713 8.6 57,279
210,474
204
180
229,097
309,111 18.7 3,064
269,701
73
96
309,280
44,977 10.1 6,526
40,857
11
15
45,003
52,534
9.1
5,069
45,891
507
6
53,047
540,554 6.3 363,533
506,384
299
248
541,101
758,856 17.3 146,967
734,843
401
255
759,512
68,480 11.0 -3,781
61,875
95
63
68,638
71,416
9.7
3,694
65,698
108
34
71,558
681,041 11.5 111,796
587,419
433
188
681,662
253,929 8.3 47,543
237,882
50
90
254,069
168,971 11.0 18,526
153,178
116
41
169,128
119,022 8.7 21,544
111,373
58
35
119,115
260,792 13.8 61,762
245,027
134
150
261,076
300,657 15.9 54,361
287,521
95
39
300,791
73,141 12.1 6,616
66,407
49
11
73,201
224,232 8.8 22,800
199,219
232
149
224,613
532,508 14.9 64,956
469,325
204
158
532,870
934,599 21.7 -2,921
883,018
257
186
935,042
416,993 14.6 25,709
374,916
163
105
417,261
135,722 12.2 42,717
129,053
99
48
135,869
255,798 9.2 28,241
238,821
160
78
256,036
67,473 14.8 2,400
60,975
339
41
67,853
76,628
7.9
4,550
72,983
24
11
76,663
274,850 19.9 43,232
256,321
139
78
275,067
106,841 16.4 13,058
103,228
35
14
106,890
621,753 15.4 65,748
535,967
260
314
622,327
94,149 11.7 13,163
85,230
145
51
94,345
1,616,809 17.2 262,313 1,489,204
496
450
1,617,755
555,039 12.6 86,756
536,384
462
422
555,923
35,513
8.6
1,950
32,243
20
13
35,546
777,214 14.5 59,372
728,858
205
410
777,829
134,550 8.6 22,239
120,974
76
77
134,703
284,486 14.9 67,447
257,640
490
92
285,068
915,249 15.7 -159,411 821,765
2,477 524
918,250
153,421 17.9 43,749
138,418
231
73
153,725
96,663 20.4 17,523
86,876
30
40
96,733
240,956 11.5 61,187
227,558
65
92
241,113
22,707
5.4
3,043
21,034
53
10
22,770
341,033 10.4 61,138
326,318
129
104
341,266
962,122 7.8 50,199
850,418
580 1,092
963,794
89,495
6.1
1,214
81,710
129
35
89,659
76,457 25.2 12,144
72,026
10
7
76,474
1,468
4.1
146
790
8
2
1,478
341,295 9.1 43,302
322,687
321
361
341,977
573,374 17.1 38,189
523,923
517
758
574,649
146,566 21.9 50,438
136,879
59
62
146,687
321,063 11.3 21,531
291,427
119
65
321,247
16,566
6.1
2,264
14,359
52
6
16,624
17,794,976 12.2 1,517,654 16,147,102 13,758 8,670
17,817,404

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 Exservicemembers (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 25, 2020

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

Change
+56,030
+19,562

NY
OR
AL
OK
NV

+14,229
+12,091
+8,534
+5,804
+3,045

State Supplied Comment
No comment.
Layoffs in the trade, educational services, information, administrative, support, waste
management, and remediation services, transportation and warehousing, and construction
industries.
Layoffs in the transportation and warehousing, information, and educational services industries.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.

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

Change
-203,017
-73,657
-69,767
-68,173
-66,698

MI
CO
TX
MN
LA
TN
IL
AZ
IN
WV
OH
KY
MD
VA
MA
PR
SC
UT
AR
NC

-54,703
-28,977
-26,677
-26,234
-25,782
-24,421
-21,340
-19,876
-16,982
-16,937
-16,231
-12,758
-10,570
-10,241
-9,611
-9,195
-7,924
-7,911
-7,733
-7,325

MS
KS
WI
NH
RI

-7,007
-6,113
-5,890
-5,413
-4,994

MO

-4,303

ID
MT

-4,196
-4,124

State Supplied Comment
Fewer layoffs in the services industries.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
Fewer layoffs in the accommodation and food services, health care and social assistance,
administrative, support, waste management, and remediation services, and construction industries.
Fewer layoffs in the manufacturing industry.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.
Fewer layoffs in the accommodations and food services, health care and social assistance, and
public administration industries.
No comment.
No comment.
Fewer layoffs in the accommodation and food services and retail trade industries.
No comment.
No comment.
Fewer layoffs in the health care and social assistance, accommodation and food services, and
retail trade industries.
No comment.
No comment.

8

 ME

-4108

HI
NE
AK
ND
NM
DE
VT

-4,096
-3,993
-1,888
-1,791
-1,528
-1,499
-1,481

Fewer layoffs in the retail trade, manufacturing, health care and social assistance, accommodation
and food services, educational services, professional, scientific, and technical services, arts,
entertainment, and recreation, administrative, support, waste management, and remediation
services, wholesale trade, and construction industries.
No comment.
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 20-871-NAT

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

10