<H3>• U.S. Initial Unemployment [Jobless] Claims Down 42k </H3>

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In the week ending April 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 346,000, a decrease of 42,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 388,000 and down 8.5% from the same week a year ago. The 4-week moving average was 358,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average of 355,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending March 30, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 23 were in Alaska (5.5), Puerto Rico (4.3), California (3.8), New Jersey (3.8), Rhode Island (3.8), Connecticut (3.7), Pennsylvania (3.7), Wisconsin (3.6), Massachusetts (3.5), and Montana (3.5). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 30 were in Pennsylvania (+3,015), New Jersey (+2,409), Illinois (+2,149), Kentucky (+1,718), and Wisconsin (+1,583), while the largest decreases were in Texas (-3,489), California (-2,661), North Carolina (-1,601), Arkansas (-1,221), and Connecticut (-774). Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS

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