∙ U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Down 1k

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In the week ending May 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 367,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 368,000 and down 14.7% from the same week a year ago. The 4-week moving average was 379,000, a decrease of 5,250 from the previous week's revised average of 384,250. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent for the week ending April 28, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.6 percent. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending April 21 were in Alaska (5.2), Oregon (3.8), Puerto Rico (3.8), California (3.7), Pennsylvania (3.7), Connecticut (3.6), New Jersey (3.6), Rhode Island (3.6), Massachusetts (3.3), and Wisconsin (3.3). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 28 were in Indiana (+2,294), Florida (+1,767), Illinois (+1,512), Pennsylvania (+1,121), and New Hampshire (+836), while the largest decreases were in New York (-21,258), Califorina (-6,790), Massachusetts (-2,530), Georgia (-2,110), and Connecticut (-1,708). Note: “Insured rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL

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