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TRANSMISSION OF MATERIALS IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL
8:30 A.M. (Eastern) Thursday, September 10, 2020

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending September 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 884,000, unchanged from
the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 3,000 from 881,000 to 884,000. The 4week moving average was 970,750, a decrease of 21,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's
average was revised up by 750 from 991,750 to 992,500.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 9.2 percent for the week ending August 29, an
increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted
insured unemployment during the week ending August 29 was 13,385,000, an increase of 93,000 from the previous
week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up 38,000 from 13,254,000 to 13,292,000. The 4-week
moving average was 13,982,000, a decrease of 523,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's
average was revised up by 9,500 from 14,496,250 to 14,505,750.

1

 UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 857,148 in the week ending
September 5, an increase of 20,140 (or 2.4 percent) from the previous week. There were 160,342 initial claims in the
comparable week in 2019. In addition, for the week ending September 5, 48 states reported 838,916 initial claims for
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 9.0 percent during the week ending August 29, unchanged
from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled
13,197,059, an increase of 54,472 (or 0.4 percent) from the preceding week. A year earlier the rate was 1.0 percent and
the volume was 1,476,199.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending August 22 was 29,605,064, an increase
of 380,379 from the previous week. There were 1,591,456 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable
week in 2019.
During the week ending August 22, Extended Benefits were available in the following 52 states: 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, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah, Vermont, the Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

2

 Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,038 in the week ending August 29, a
decrease of 13 from the prior week. There were 914 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 112
from the preceding week.
There were 13,641 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending August 22, a decrease of
524 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 13,013, a decrease of 671 from the
prior week.
During the week ending August 22, 48 states reported 14,591,621 individuals claiming Pandemic Unemployment
Assistance benefits and 49 states reported 1,422,483 individuals claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment
Compensation benefits.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending August 22 were in Hawaii (20.3), Puerto Rico (16.7),
Nevada (16.0), New York (14.9), California (14.8), Connecticut (14.7), Louisiana (13.2), the Virgin Islands (12.6),
Georgia (12.2), and District of Columbia (11.5).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 29 were in California (+22,647), Texas (+4,521),
Louisiana (+3,662), Tennessee (+1,288), and Missouri (+1,226), while the largest decreases were in Florida (-6,057),
Georgia (-5,485), Pennsylvania (-2,627), Wisconsin (-1,422), and Michigan (-1,159).

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

September 5
884,000
857,148
970,750

August 29
884,000
837,008
992,500

Change
0
+20,140
-21,750

August 22
1,011,000
825,761
1,069,250

Prior Year1
208,000
160,342
214,250

August 29
13,385,000
13,197,059
13,982,000
9.2%
9.0%

August 22
13,292,000
13,142,587
14,505,750
9.1%
9.0%

Change
+93,000
+54,472
-523,750
+0.1
0.0

August 15
14,492,000
13,869,218
15,205,250
9.9%
9.5%

Prior Year1
1,683,000
1,476,199
1,688,000
1.2%
1.0%

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

September 5

August 29

Change

August 22

838,916

747,993

+90,923

607,808

August 29
1,038
914

August 22
1,051
802

Change
-13
+112

Prior Year1
567
478

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

August 22
13,067,530
13,641
13,013
14,591,621
1,422,483
241,008
2,337
253,431
29,605,064

August 15
13,792,016
14,165
13,684
13,570,327
1,393,314
168,620
2,327
270,232
29,224,685

Change
-724,486
-524
-671
+1,021,294
+29,169
+72,388
+10
-16,801
+380,379

Prior Year1
1,564,203
6,620
5,863
NA
NA
0
4,704
10,066
1,591,456

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 146,125,989 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 include PUA Unemployment for the appropriate corresponding week.

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 September 5
Advance
Prior Wk
Change
8,285
8,511
-226
4,071
4,057
14
13,591
11,705
1,886
5,022
5,337
-315
237,516
219,563
17,953
5,900
5,863
37
4,682
5,404
-722
1,468
1,577
-109
1,385
1,468
-83
36,541
45,590
-9,049
50,072
51,283
-1,211
7,648
6,748
900
3,588
3,686
-98
23,305
26,194
-2,889
11,556
10,779
777
5,689
5,914
-225
13,632
15,009
-1,377
9,018
16,504
-7,486
23,390
16,191
7,199
1,156
1,248
-92
6,450
7,271
-821
18,151
18,568
-417
13,229
18,838
-5,609
11,255
10,295
960
3,980
4,465
-485
9,903
10,509
-606
2,758
2,532
226
2,460
2,461
-1
10,004
8,032
1,972
2,398
2,501
-103
21,991
20,348
1,643
3,929
3,874
55
65,273
63,366
1,907
13,287
13,297
-10
1,035
804
231
16,912
18,786
-1,874
5,251
6,019
-768
5,061
5,114
-53
22,048
24,883
-2,835
11,270
1,825
9,445
3,163
3,680
-517
5,113
5,000
113
536
630
-94
11,706
12,876
-1,170
66,330
56,673
9,657
2,353
2,587
-234
691
749
-58
27
363
-336
14,009
10,305
3,704
23,850
22,286
1,564
1,958
2,026
-68
12,505
12,457
48
747
957
-210
857,148
837,008
20,140

Insured Unemployment For Week Ended August 29
Advance
Prior Wk
Change
38,204
48,797
-10,593
27,244
29,524
-2,280
194,287
202,716
-8,429
37,788
44,564
-6,776
2,925,688
2,570,005
355,683
163,063
177,822
-14,759
196,397
242,193
-45,796
33,578
31,974
1,604
63,645
66,870
-3,225
368,466
455,587
-87,121
525,959
535,406
-9,447
127,301
125,970
1,331
11,637
14,423
-2,786
548,749
558,651
-9,902
157,564
164,569
-7,005
71,644
75,877
-4,233
67,304
59,081
8,223
119,337
116,600
2,737
232,619
249,610
-16,991
34,848
38,919
-4,071
157,790
175,969
-18,179
389,361
407,376
-18,015
408,575
401,800
6,775
220,308
219,557
751
96,491
84,480
12,011
90,909
105,318
-14,409
23,220
25,236
-2,016
23,305
26,257
-2,952
202,385
221,599
-19,214
41,982
44,578
-2,596
386,937
410,830
-23,893
86,226
88,125
-1,899
1,424,743
1,406,935
17,808
160,482
178,019
-17,537
16,340
14,910
1,430
293,912
343,050
-49,138
103,903
119,571
-15,668
168,941
158,480
10,461
585,713
561,665
24,048
110,842
143,792
-32,950
44,034
47,405
-3,371
109,898
128,226
-18,328
9,272
10,778
-1,506
184,347
199,408
-15,061
1,057,110
1,017,360
39,750
39,530
40,081
-551
26,552
26,970
-418
3,750
4,618
-868
252,948
233,467
19,481
328,254
277,631
50,623
51,882
49,892
1,990
142,416
150,900
-8,484
9,379
9,146
233
13,197,059
13,142,587
54,472

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
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
May 9, 2020
May 16, 2020
May 23, 2020
May 30, 2020
June 6, 2020
June 13, 2020
June 20, 2020
June 27, 2020
July 4, 2020
July 11, 2020
July 18, 2020
July 25, 2020
August 1, 2020
August 8, 2020
August 15, 2020
August 22, 2020
August 29, 2020
September 5, 2020

Initial
Claims
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
3,867
3,176
2,687
2,446
2,123
1,897
1,566
1,540
1,482
1,408
1,310
1,308
1,422
1,435
1,191
971
1,104
1,011
884
884

Change
from
Prior
Week
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
-575
-691
-489
-241
-323
-226
-331
-26
-58
-74
-98
-2
114
13
-244
-220
133
-93
-127
0

Change
from
Insured
Prior
Unemployment Week
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
22,377
4,366
22,548
171
24,912
2,364
20,841
-4,071
21,268
427
20,606
-662
20,289
-317
19,231
-1,058
18,760
-471
17,760
-1,000
17,304
-456
16,151
-1,153
16,951
800
16,090
-861
15,480
-610
14,759
-721
14,492
-267
13,292
-1,200
13,385
93

4-Week
Average
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
5,040.25
4,180.50
3,543.00
3,044.00
2,608.00
2,288.25
2,008.00
1,781.50
1,621.25
1,499.00
1,435.00
1,377.00
1,362.00
1,368.75
1,339.00
1,254.75
1,175.25
1,069.25
992.50
970.75

6

4-Week
Average
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
17,030.25
19,688.75
21,962.00
22,669.50
22,392.25
21,906.75
20,751.00
20,348.50
19,721.50
19,010.00
18,263.75
17,493.75
17,041.50
16,624.00
16,168.00
15,820.00
15,205.25
14,505.75
13,982.00

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
2.1
5.1
8.2
10.9
12.4
15.4
15.5
17.1
14.3
14.6
14.1
13.9
13.2
12.9
12.2
11.8
11.1
11.6
11.0
10.6
10.1
9.9
9.1
9.2

 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance 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

PUA Initial Claims Filed During Week Ended September 5
Advance
Prior Wk
Change
1,261
1,911
-650
347
315
32
101,239
64,177
37,062
8,173
10,912
-2,739
433,020
405,878
27,142
2,216
0
2,216
1,739
1,437
302
0
160
-160
2,720
176
2,544
8,331
0
8,331
5,474
6,034
-560
2,776
2,927
-151
42
85
-43
4,186
4,433
-247
9,722
7,643
2,079
933
1,137
-204
12,362
13,580
-1,218
2,312
2,619
-307
7,663
6,807
856
1,731
2,021
-290
3,008
0
3,008
11,424
11,032
392
11,627
14,194
-2,567
0
10
-10
1,603
2,039
-436
972
1,445
-473
2,679
2,948
-269
1,081
1,035
46
9,832
10,411
-579
373
744
-371
18,408
10,451
7,957
1,300
1,464
-164
33,438
30,859
2,579
8,068
7,338
730
784
713
71
14,050
15,231
-1,181
1,080
896
184
6,167
2,500
3,667
33,472
35,340
-1,868
0
4,480
-4,480
28,962
21,584
7,378
4,142
4,963
-821
70
89
-19
4,625
4,704
-79
24,380
20,109
4,271
0
755
-755
52
60
-8
103
204
-101
3,998
3,499
499
4,979
4,609
370
0
0
0
1,782
1,871
-89
210
164
46
838,916
747,993
90,923

PUA Continued Claims For Week Ended Aug 22
Aug 22
Aug 15
Change
32,578
31,846
732
12,056
11,375
681
311,234
296,582
14,652
96,643
102,407
-5,764
6,979,456
5,424,687
1,554,769
0
83,926
-83,926
58,854
56,929
1,925
7,614
7,797
-183
14,233
13,434
799
0
0
0
259,734
250,784
8,950
89,425
78,557
10,868
13,041
14,737
-1,696
117,624
118,968
-1,344
169,475
141,404
28,071
13,254
13,593
-339
155,973
225,271
-69,298
41,340
54,400
-13,060
133,263
132,988
275
21,999
23,246
-1,247
0
229,071
-229,071
459,204
479,294
-20,090
716,758
815,217
-98,459
45,055
46,470
-1,415
32,181
30,791
1,390
59,318
59,261
57
60,773
46,527
14,246
21,572
23,949
-2,377
104,592
107,334
-2,742
18,927
19,895
-968
395,276
404,661
-9,385
37,276
35,703
1,573
1,539,835
1,473,822
66,013
154,015
155,254
-1,239
5,512
6,220
-708
392,638
386,218
6,420
6,945
0
6,945
86,965
88,031
-1,066
817,299
845,542
-28,243
186,879
263,590
-76,711
62,402
55,720
6,682
65,558
66,565
-1,007
2,997
6,421
-3,424
143,407
137,508
5,899
250,946
279,245
-28,299
7,718
8,311
-593
10,173
10,453
-280
0
0
0
207,470
206,968
502
122,143
145,469
-23,326
0
0
0
47,747
51,689
-3,942
2,244
2,197
47
14,591,621
13,570,327
1,021,294

Note: Information on the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program can be found in UIPL 16-20:
PUA Program information . Backdated claims data may be included in these figures.

7

 Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation Claims - Not Seasonally Adjusted
STATE

August 22

PEUC Claims Filed During Weeks Ended:
August 15
Change
August 8

August 1

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

79,413
4,878
16,536
21,825
355,514
16,593
12,288
2,172
2,148
0
0
0
6,985
32,692
7,339
18,683
8,468
0
3,065
7,076
10,829
43,141
44,737
29,916
7,730
28,791
4,079
2,704
23,760
956
54,589
5,522
75,994
214,678
4,221
17,570
5,561
16,712
44,477
4,927
6,008
39,692
442
19,075
29,168
8,377
1,589
16
47,405
5,222
4,789
22,312
1,819
1,422,483

79,702
4,783
15,531
21,879
344,378
20,793
12,559
2,147
2,114
34,703
0
0
6,448
32,245
7,084
17,132
6,819
0
3,116
6,205
10,567
43,071
51,511
28,211
6,776
22,113
3,843
2,702
21,635
962
52,895
5,285
71,910
210,657
4,198
17,191
0
15,962
42,210
4,712
5,409
30,639
355
15,486
21,001
8,105
1,324
79
43,794
5,064
4,819
21,502
1,688
1,393,314

77,381
4,066
13,287
17,975
290,941
17,003
11,870
2,509
2,208
47,118
0
0
5,639
31,896
7,311
14,797
0
0
3,179
5,253
10,185
42,630
42,575
24,636
8,753
12,429
3,232
2,362
18,018
7,365
52,447
5,096
93,823
201,964
3,882
17,981
0
14,274
37,975
5,409
4,446
19,827
363
9,539
18,850
7,186
1,240
89
37,666
5,353
4,892
20,559
1,646
1,289,125

-289
95
1,005
-54
11,136
-4,200
-271
25
34
-34,703
0
0
537
447
255
1,551
1,649
0
-51
871
262
70
-6,774
1,705
954
6,678
236
2
2,125
-6
1,694
237
4,084
4,021
23
379
5,561
750
2,267
215
599
9,053
87
3,589
8,167
272
265
-63
3,611
158
-30
810
131
29,169

78,944
4,244
13,951
20,251
394,359
11,128
12,512
2,231
2,167
51,568
0
0
6,132
33,974
7,025
14,520
5,143
0
3,040
5,804
10,294
44,618
42,520
26,649
7,324
16,832
3,464
2,692
19,798
957
52,722
4,864
70,896
208,596
4,139
17,181
0
15,300
42,023
5,089
4,989
23,612
320
12,146
17,924
7,934
1,254
56
42,600
5,442
4,758
22,182
1,634
1,407,802

Note: Information on the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program can be found in
Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) 17-20: PEUC Program information

8

 Extended Benefits (EB) 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

EB Claims Filed During Weeks Ended:
August 22
August 15
0
895
356
1,613
82,722
51
4,880
178
11
393
0
8
232
17,055
2,440
2,475
501
0
1,015
556
2,848
4,220
12
5,378
1,308
3,740
504
122
2,889
332
19,141
1,333
30,662
8,090
346
7,039
0
2,667
19,418
408
1,065
3,410
0
1,643
0
475
396
0
0
8,017
16
22
126
241,008

0
782
314
1,425
34,340
38
4,699
210
0
319
0
6
226
16,168
2,178
2,390
445
0
951
42
2,427
0
14
5,077
1,153
3,357
395
117
2,338
280
16,644
1,163
28,283
7,076
285
6,148
0
2,332
12,817
373
905
3,216
0
1,363
0
321
329
0
0
7,623
5
28
18
168,620

Note: Information on the EB program can be found here: EB Program information

9

Change
0
113
42
188
48,382
13
181
-32
11
74
0
2
6
887
262
85
56
0
64
514
421
4,220
-2
301
155
383
109
5
551
52
2,497
170
2,379
1,014
61
891
0
335
6,601
35
160
194
0
280
0
154
67
0
0
394
11
-6
108
72,388

 INITIAL CLAIMS FILED DURING WEEK ENDED
AUGUST 29
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
8,511
4,057
11,705
5,337
219,563
5,863
5,404
1,577
1,468
45,590
51,283
6,748
3,686
26,194
10,779
5,914
15,009
16,504
16,191
1,248
7,271
18,568
18,838
10,295
4,465
10,509
2,532
2,461
8,032
2,501
20,348
3,874
63,366
13,297
804
18,786
6,019
5,114
24,883
1,825
3,680
5,000
630
12,876
56,673
2,587
749
363
10,305
22,286
2,026
12,457
957
837,008

LAST YEAR
WEEK AGO UCFE 1 UCX 1
-165
6,376
11
122
-287
3,375
15
0
-782
8,083
4
8
-323
3,883
4
1
22,647 185,205 217
172
-620
4,353
18
28
-865
3,198
8
1
-101
1,132
3
0
-177
1,077
29
2
-6,057 39,944
14
15
-5,485 46,486
52
23
973
5,690
13
21
-108
2,986
2
1
-68
15,090
5
6
182
8,800
17
6
-470
4,145
5
5
-400
12,843
0
2
183
14,662
2
13
3,662 14,310
21
9
128
860
2
1
-373
4,758
33
20
974
14,543
27
23
-1,159 14,485
17
5
-522
8,079
10
7
-31
3,413
2
0
1,226
8,030
4
2
212
2,051
7
3
-341
1,575
3
4
-826
5,594
5
4
-77
2,127
0
0
166
13,245
44
16
-438
3,222
3
3
683
48,250
14
40
-383
10,256
27
56
84
565
3
1
-316
14,071
14
28
-45
4,595
21
3
-38
1,923
10
9
-2,627 13,697
161
30
-531
864
0
1
494
3,063
0
1
-496
3,131
10
13
-172
508
9
1
1,288 10,655
26
18
4,521 43,625
86
160
-393
1,766
28
1
63
544
0
0
170
324
0
2
-1,131
8,088
3
4
882
17,342
14
18
-56
1,210
4
1
-1,422
8,670
8
4
-6
725
3
0
11,247 657,492 1,038 914

INSURED UNEMPLOYMENT FOR WEEK ENDED
AUGUST 22
ALL PROGRAMS
CHANGE FROM
EXCLUDING
LAST
YEAR
RAILROAD
STATE (%) 2 WEEK
AGO UCFE 1 UCX 1 RETIREMENT
48,797
2.5 -3,194
33,090
95
65
48,957
29,524
9.6 -2,149
24,908
123
58
29,705
202,716 7.0 -3,262
175,453
352
233
203,301
44,564
3.7 -3,505
33,790
79
49
44,692
2,570,005 14.8 -267,986 2,279,350 1,962 2,166
2,574,133
177,822 6.6 -2,568
161,875
170
345
178,337
242,193 14.7 11,551
206,730
161
110
242,464
31,974
7.2 -1,197
26,334
24
45
32,043
66,870 11.5 -1,378
59,729
834
9
67,713
455,587 5.2 -3,367
414,567
220
218
456,025
535,406 12.2 -18,307 510,584
622
444
536,472
125,970 20.3 10,551
119,651
351
171
126,492
14,423
1.9 -1,991
10,178
8
19
14,450
558,651 9.4 -34,654 474,754
526
310
559,487
164,569 5.4 -5,772
151,362
124
143
164,836
75,877
5.0 -7,435
61,869
124
62
76,063
59,081
4.3 -2,721
51,608
89
72
59,242
116,600 6.1 -11,211
99,880
94
194
116,888
249,610 13.2 -1,110
233,932
192
77
249,879
38,919
6.4 -2,540
35,514
45
43
39,007
175,969 6.9
-826
147,474
340
228
176,537
407,376 11.4 -11,637 351,246
300
201
407,877
401,800 9.3 -60,383 364,050
119
145
402,064
219,557 7.7 -12,432 196,145
145
164
219,866
84,480
7.6 -5,978
76,263
169
54
84,703
105,318 3.8 -13,395
87,367
118
73
105,509
25,236
5.5 -1,082
21,210
51
33
25,320
26,257
2.7 -3,903
23,501
21
10
26,288
221,599 16.0 -6,604
204,211
131
139
221,869
44,578
6.8 -3,180
41,138
9
14
44,601
410,830 10.2 -189
316,041
299
486
411,615
88,125 10.9 -1,815
80,613
378
99
88,602
1,406,935 14.9 -21,678 1,270,119
410
741
1,408,086
178,019 4.0 -13,803 158,658
340
555
178,914
14,910
3.6 -1,417
12,896
209
15
15,134
343,050 6.4 -4,475
303,735
179
355
343,584
119,571 7.6 -2,942
105,288
136
156
119,863
158,480 8.2 -5,623
134,989
312
151
158,943
561,665 9.6 -68,216 453,872
1,025 480
563,170
143,792 16.7 5,650
126,990
190
44
144,026
47,405 10.0 -2,018
39,042
39
22
47,466
128,226 6.1 -15,575 113,946
60
112
128,398
10,778
2.6 1,661
9,902
239
5
11,022
199,408 6.0 -5,544
182,811
134
128
199,670
1,017,360 8.2 -74,601 898,459
1,001 2,318
1,020,679
40,081
2.7 -6,725
34,116
48
34
40,163
26,970
8.9 -1,420
24,407
8
3
26,981
4,618
12.6
300
4,166
2
0
4,620
233,467 6.2 -16,278 215,203
416
490
234,373
277,631 8.2 -6,593
235,109
392
750
278,773
49,892
7.5 -2,187
42,222
77
63
50,032
150,900 5.3 -10,797 127,621
137
106
151,143
9,146
3.4
-681
7,685
12
6
9,164
13,142,587 9.0 -726,631 11,575,653 13,641 13,013
13,169,241

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.

10

 UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED AUGUST 29, 2020
STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000
State
CA
TX
LA
TN

Change
+22,647
+4,521
+3,662
+1,288

MO

+1,226

State Supplied Comment
Layoffs in the service industry.
Layoffs in the manufacturing and information industries.
No comment.
Layoffs in the accommodation and food services, administrative and support and waste
management and remediation services, retail trade, health care and social assistance, and other
services industries.
Layoffs in the accommodation and food services and manufacturing industries.

STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000
State
FL

Change
-6,057

GA

-5,485

PA

-2,627

WI
MI
VA

-1,422
-1,159
-1,131

State Supplied Comment
Fewer layoffs in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, construction, manufacturing,
wholesale trade, retail trade, and service industries.
Fewer layoffs in the trade, accommodation and food services, and health care and social
assistance industries.
Fewer layoffs in the accommodation and food services, manufacturing, transportation and
warehousing, and health care and social assistance industries.
No comment.
No comment.
No comment.

11

 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 20-1709-NAT

Program Contacts:
Thomas Stengle: (202) 693-2991
Media Contact:
(202) 693-4676

12