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


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending May 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 357,000, a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 375,000. The 4-week moving average was 368,500, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week''s revised average of 371,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending May 24, unchanged from the prior week''s unrevised rate of 2.3 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 24 was 3,093,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 3,109,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,085,750, an increase of 15,250 from the preceding week''s revised average of 3,070,500.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 2.883 million.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 299,405 in the week ending May 31, a decrease of 27,271 from the previous week. There were 263,527 initial claims in the comparable week in 2007.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent during the week ending May 24, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,768,287, a decrease of 39,217 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 1.7 percent and the volume was 2,261,581.

Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending May 17.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 932 in the week ending May 24, a decrease of 60 from the prior week. There were 1,343 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 33 from the preceding week.

There were 10,193 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending May 17, a decrease of 1,313 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 19,189, a decrease of 1,070 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending May 17 were in Puerto Rico (4.3 percent), Alaska (3.7), Michigan (3.5), Oregon (3.1), California (3.0), Pennsylvania (2.9), New Jersey (2.8), Rhode Island (2.8), Nevada (2.7), and Arkansas (2.6).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 24 were in Ohio (+2,390), Mississippi (+2,028), Kentucky (+1,522), Iowa (+1,467), and Georgia (+1,165), while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-1,880), Pennsylvania (-1,120), Florida (-1,093), South Carolina (-1,081), and North Carolina (-1,028).


Available at:

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