• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Up 2K

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In the week ending August 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 366,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 364,000 but down 10.3% from the same week a year ago. The 4-week moving average was 363,750, a decrease of 5,500 from the previous week's revised average of 369,250. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending August 4, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 28 were in theVirgin Islands (4.5), Puerto Rico (4.0), Pennsylvania (3.9), New Jersey (3.8), Connecticut (3.6), Alaska (3.5), California (3.5), Rhode Island (3.3), New York (3.2), >and Nevada (3.1). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 4 were in California (+3,069), Pennsylvania (+2,534), Illinois (+1,165), Ohio (+1,018), and Missouri (+935), while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-4,157), New York (-2,653), Puerto Rico (-1,394), Tennessee (-318), and Florida (-300). Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS