The following is the unedited transcript of the news release from the U.S. Department of Labor.


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending Feb. 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 356,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 378,000. The 4-week moving average was 335,000, an increase of 8,500 from the previous week''s revised average of 326,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent for the week ending Jan. 26, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week''s unrevised rate of 2.0 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Jan. 26 was 2,785,000, an increase of 75,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 2,710,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,727,750, an increase of 24,250 from the preceding week''s revised average of 2,703,500.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 379,507 in the week ending Feb. 2, an increase of 9,563 from the previous week. There were 339,018 initial claims in the comparable week in 2007.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent during the week ending Jan. 26, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,349,982, an increase of 100,408 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.3 percent and the volume was 2,981,310.

Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending Jan. 19.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,171 in the week ending Jan. 26, a decrease of 369 from the prior week. There were 1,375 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 365 from the preceding week.

There were 19,277 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Jan. 19, an increase of 1,406 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 23,469, a decrease of 832 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Jan. 19 were in Alaska (5.2 percent), Michigan (4.6), Rhode Island (4.1), Pennsylvania (3.8), Idaho (3.7), Wisconsin (3.7), Massachusetts (3.4), New Jersey (3.4), Oregon (3.4), and Montana (3.3).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Jan. 26 were in Wisconsin (+2,335), North Carolina (+715), Maryland (+504), Virginia (+340), and California (+233), while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-7,546), Illinois (-4,483), Florida (-4,127), Ohio (-3,038), and Texas (-2,887).


Available at:

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm