weekly jobless claims 10/13/08

First-time filings for state unemployment benefits hit their highest level since September 2001, rising to 516,000 in the latest week, a further sign of how the U.S. labor market's are struggling, the Labor Department.
For the week ended Nov. 8, initial claims climbed by 32,000 from last week's revised figure of 484,000.
The four-week average of new claims -- which measures the underlying trend in joblessness -- also hit a historic high, shooting up to 491,000. That's the highest level since March 1991.
There was more gloomy news in continuing claims, which rose to 3.89 million in the week ended Nov. 1, up 65,000.
The level of continuing claims indicates how difficult it is for displaced workers to find new jobs. Initial claims represent job destruction.
The four-week average of continuing claims was 3.79 million.
Both the figures for continuing claims and four-week continuing claims stood at the highest since 1983.
Unemployment benefits typically run out after 26 weeks for those who are eligible. A new law extends jobless benefits for an additional 13 weeks under a separate federal program.
Thursday's claims data are the latest gloomy indicator for the labor market.
In October, the nation's unemployment rate tipped 6.5% -- the highest in more than 14 years.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending Nov. 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 516,000, an increase of 32,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 484,000. The 4-week moving average was 491,000, an increase of 13,250 from the previous week's revised average of 477,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent for the week ending Nov. 1, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.9 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Nov. 1 was 3,897,000, an increase of 65,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,832,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,794,250, an increase of 43,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,751,250.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 539,868 in the week ending Nov. 8, an increase of 73,527 from the previous week. There were 351,760 initial claims in the comparable week in 2007.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent during the week ending Nov. 1, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,452,619, an increase of 141,541 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 1.7 percent and the volume was 2,292,297.
Extended benefits were available in North Carolina and Rhode Island during the week ending Oct 25.
Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,459 in the week ending Nov. 1, an increase of 92 from the prior week. There were 1,608 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 154 from the preceding week.
There were 14,511 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Oct. 25, an increase of 84 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 23,407, an increase of 350 from the prior week.
States reported 756,683 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Oct. 25, a decrease of 16,366 from the prior week.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Oct. 25 were in Puerto Rico (5.1 percent), Oregon (3.7), Nevada (3.6), Michigan (3.5), California (3.4), New Jersey (3.3), South Carolina (3.3), Pennsylvania (3.2), Arkansas (3.1), Alaska (3.0), and North Carolina (3.0).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Nov. 1 were in Ohio (+3,885), Michigan (+2,619), Pennsylvania (+2,155), Wisconsin (+2,119), and Arizona (+1,692), while the largest decreases were in California (-3,603), Florida (-2,327), Nevada (-943), South Carolina (-824), and Indiana (-621).
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UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS
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Advance Prior1
WEEK ENDING Nov. 8 Nov. 1 Change Oct. 25 Year
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Initial Claims (SA) 516,000 484,000 +32,000 485,000 338,000
Initial Claims (NSA) 539,868 466,341 +73,527 449,389 351,760
4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 491,000 477,750 +13,250 477,000 331,750
Advance Prior1
WEEK ENDING Nov. 1 Oct. 25 Change Oct. 18 Year
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Ins. Unemployment (SA) 3,897,000 3,832,000 +65,000 3,721,000 2,587,000
Ins. Unemployment (NSA) 3,452,619 3,311,078 +141,541 3,233,118 2,292,297
4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 3,794,250 3,751,250 +43,000 3,711,000 2,580,500
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Ins. Unemployment Rate (SA)2 2.9% 2.9% 0.0 2.8% 2.0%
Ins. Unemployment Rate (NSA)2 2.6% 2.5% +0.1 2.4% 1.7%
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INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)
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Prior1
WEEK ENDING Nov. 1 Oct. 25 Change Year
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Federal Employees 1,459 1,367 +92 1,467
Newly Discharged Veterans 1,608 1,762 -154 1,698
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PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)
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Prior1
WEEK ENDING Oct. 25 Oct. 18 Change Year
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Federal Employees 14,511 14,427 +84 15,534
Newly Discharged Veterans 23,407 23,057 +350 23,352
Railroad Retirement Board 3,000 3,000 0 3,000
Extended Benefits 111 675 -564 0
EUC 2008 756,683 773,049 -16,366 0
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FOOTNOTES
SA - Seasonally Adjusted Data
NSA - Not Seasonally Adjusted Data
1 - Prior year is comparable to most recent data.
2 - Most recent week used covered employment of 133,902,387 as denominator.
UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED 11/01/2008
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STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000
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State Change State Supplied Comment
CA -3,603 No comment.
FL -2,327 Fewer layoffs in the construction, trade, and service industries, and agriculture.
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STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000
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State Change State Supplied Comment
TN +1,018 Layoffs in the transportation equipment, electrical equipment, industrial machinery, textile, service, and manufacturing industries.
AL +1,088 Layoffs in the electrical equipment and manufacturing industries.
TX +1,201 Layoffs in the trade, service, and manufacturing industries.
WA +1,202 Layoffs in the construction industry, and agriculture.
AR +1,360 Layoffs in the automobile and manufacturing industries.
AZ +1,692 No comment.
WI +2,119 Layoffs in the construction, trade, service, transportation, and warehousing industries.
PA +2,155 Layoffs in the mining, construction, service, and printing/publishing industries.
MI +2,619 Layoffs in the automobile industry.
OH +3,885 Layoffs in the automobile industry.