∙ U.S. Initial UC Claims Drop 27k

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In the week ending April 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 365,000, a decrease of 27,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 392,000 and down 21.3% from the same week a year ago. The 4-week moving average was 383,500, an increase of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 382,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending April 21, unchanged from the prior week. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending April 14 were in Alaska (5.6), Puerto Rico (4.2), New Jersey (3.9), Oregon (3.9), Pennsylvania (3.9), California (3.8), Connecticut (3.5),Wisconsin (3.5), Illinois ( 3.4), and Rhode Island (3.4). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 21 were in New York (+15,467), Massachusetts (+4,336), Connecticut (+1,776), Puerto Rico (+1,264), and Rhode Island (+1,163), while the largest decreases were in New Jersey (-5,748), Pennsylvania (-3,080), Wisconsin (-1,841), Ohio (-1,798) and Alabama (-1,444). Note: “Insured rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL

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