<H3>• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims – 18 October 2014 </H3>

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In the week ending October 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 283,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 264,000 to 266,000. The 4-week moving average was 281,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since May 6, 2000 when it was 279,250. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 283,500 to 284,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.8 percent for the week ending October 11, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 11 was 2,351,000, a decrease of 38,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 2,389,000. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending October 4 were in Puerto Rico (3.2), Alaska (2.8), New Jersey (2.7), Virgin Islands (2.7), California (2.3), Connecticut (2.3), Nevada (2.2), Massachusetts (2.1), Pennsylvania (2.1), and Rhode Island. The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending October 11 were in Pennsylvania (+4,013), Michigan (+3,210), Texas (+1,615), Washington (+1,064), and Maryland (+945), while the largest decreases were in Iowa (-1,229), Florida (-781), New York (-600), Oregon (-407), and Ohio (-394). Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS NOTE: This report is provided with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in providing legal, financial, accounting or other professional advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Furthermore, while we do our best to ensure that these data are accurate, we suggest that any entity making decisions based on these numbers should verify the data at their source prior to making such decisions.

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