• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Down 2K

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In the week ending May 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 370,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 372,000 and down 12.7% from the same week a year ago. Click on chart to enlarge: The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending May 12, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending May 5 were in Alaska (4.9), California (3.6), Puerto Rico (3.6), Pennsylvania (3.5), New Jersey (3.4), Oregon (3.4), Connecticut (3.2), Illinois (3.1), Nevada (3.1), Rhode Island (3.0), and Wisconsin (3.0). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 12 were in North Carolina (+1,956), Mississippi (+675), Tennessee (+474), Alabama (+428), and Florida (+373), while the largest decreases were in California (-3,478), New York (-3,094), Missouri (-2,111), Texas (-1,446), and Illinois (-1,316). Note: “Insured rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS

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