<H3>• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims — 16 May 2015 </H3>

---

In the week ending May 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 274,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 264,000. The 4-week moving average was 266,250, a decrease of 5,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 271,750. This is the lowest level for this average since April 15, 2000 when it was 266,250. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.6 percent for the week ending May 9, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 9 was 2,211,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending May 2 were in Alaska (3.5), Puerto Rico (2.7), California (2.6), New Jersey (2.6), Connecticut (2.3), Pennsylvania (2.3), Nevada (2.2), West Virginia (2.2), Wyoming (2.2), and Massachusetts (2.1). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 9 were in Georgia (+1,480), Florida (+1,087), South Carolina (+891), Illinois (+860), and North Carolina (+801), while the largest decreases were in New York (-1,696), Oregon (-931), New Hampshire (-726), Wisconsin (-605), and Missouri (-322). 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. © 2015 Connecticut Human Resource Reports, LLC URL: http://connecticuthumanresources.blogspot.com/

---