<H3>• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims – 28 December 2013 </H3>

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In the week ending December 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 339,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 341,000. The 4-week moving average was 357,250, an increase of 8,500 from the previous week's revised average of 348,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending December 21, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending December 21 were in Alaska (6.1), New Jersey (3.8), California (3.4), Montana (3.3), Pennsylvania (3.3), Connecticut (3.2), Puerto Rico (3.2), Illinois (3.0), Wisconsin (3.0), Oregon (2.9), West Virginia (2.9), and Nevada (2.8). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending December 21 were in Michigan (+4,865), New York (+3,284), Oregon (+1,901), New Jersey (+1,887), and Kentucky (+1,538), while the largest decreases were in California (-5,429), Illinois (-3,509), Washington (-1,930), Minnesota (-1,627), and Indiana (-1,363). 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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