<H3>• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims – 21 December 2013 </H3>

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In the week ending December 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 338,000, a decrease of 42,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 380,000. The 4-week moving average was 348,000, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week's revised average of 343,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending December 14, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending December 14 were in Alaska (5.3), Puerto Rico (3.8), Pennsylvania (3.5), California (3.3), Connecticut (3.1), Montana (3.1), West Virginia (3.1), Illinois (2.8), Oregon (2.8), and Wisconsin (2.8). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending December 14 were in California (+4,622), Illinois (+3,686), Massachusetts (+2,331), Ohio (+1,529), and Indiana (+1,473), while the largest decreases were in New York (-12,706), Pennsylvania (-10,866), Georgia (-8,340), Texas (-4,904), and Wisconsin (-4,821). Click on chart to enlarge Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS

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