<H3>• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Down 18k </H3> [Jobless]

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In the week ending April 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 324,000, a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 342,000 and down 12.7% from the same week a year ago. The 4-week moving average was 342,250, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised average of 358,250. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending April 20, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending April 13 were in Alaska (5.1), Puerto Rico (4.2), New Jersey (3.6), Wisconsin (3.6), California (3.4), Connecticut (3.3), Pennsylvania (3.3), Illinois (3.2), New Mexico (3.2), and Oregon (3.1). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 20 were in Michigan (+6,172), Massachusetts (+4,101), Connecticut (+2,452), Rhode Island (+1,427), and Nevada (+535), while the largest decreases were in California (-16,681), New York (-6,443), Pennsylvania (-3,646), Texas (-3,070), and Indiana (-1,637). Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS

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