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


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending Aug. 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 450,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 460,000. The 4-week moving average was 440,500, an increase of 19,500 from the previous week''s revised average of 421,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending Aug. 2, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week''s unrevised rate of 2.5 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Aug. 2 was 3,417,000, an increase of 114,000 from the preceding week''s revised level of 3,303,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,273,750, an increase of 75,250 from the preceding week''s revised average of 3,198,500.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 2.995 million.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 378,705 in the week ending Aug. 9, a decrease of 6,577 from the previous week. There were 266,420 initial claims in the comparable week in 2007.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent during the week ending Aug. 2, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,236,307, an increase of 69,167 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 1.8 percent and the volume was 2,409,122.

Extended benefits were available in Alaska and Rhode Island during the week ending July 26.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,099 in the week ending Aug. 2, an increase of 21 from the prior week. There were 1,701 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 273 from the preceding week.

There were 13,746 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending July 26, a decrease of 436 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 20,980, an increase of 83 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 26 were in Puerto Rico (3.8 percent), Michigan (3.5), Rhode Island (3.5), New Jersey (3.4), Pennsylvania (3.3), Massachusetts (3.2), California (3.1), Oregon (3.1), South Carolina (3.0), and Wisconsin (3.0).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Aug. 2 were in Puerto Rico (+5,389), Illinois (+4,163), Missouri (+2,011), Texas (+1,927), and Georgia (+1,797), while the largest decreases were in Ohio (-5,483), Kentucky (-3,734), North Carolina (-2,298), South Carolina (-2,187), and Indiana (-1,380).


Available at:

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