1

from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 231,000 to 232,000. The

4-week moving average was 230,000, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's

average was revised up by 250 from 231,500 to 231,750.

level. The previous week's level was revised down by 8,000 from 1,868,000 to 1,860,000. The 4-week moving average

was 1,853,000, a decrease of 8,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised

down by 2,000 from 1,863,250 to 1,861,250.

4

FOOTNOTES

SA - Seasonally Adjusted Data, NSA - Not Seasonally Adjusted Data Continued weeks claimed represent all weeks of benefits

5. Information on STC/Worksharing can be found starting on page 4-11 of the following link: Extensions and Special

5

6

7

1. The Unemployment Compensation program for Federal Employees (UCFE) and the Unemployment

2. Rate is not seasonally adjusted. The source of U.S. total covered employment is BLS.

8

9

insurance program offices. These claims may be used for monitoring workload volume, assessing state program

operations and for assessing labor market conditions. States initially report claims directly taken by the state liable for the

benefit payments, regardless of where the claimant who filed the claim resided. These are the basis for the advance initial

claims and continued claims reported each week. These data come from ETA 538, Advance Weekly Initial and

Continued Claims Report. The following week initial claims and continued claims are revised based on a second

claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market

conditions in the country. However, these are weekly administrative data which are difficult to seasonally adjust, making

the series subject to some volatility.

A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment then files a continued

claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. On a weekly basis, continued claims are also referred to as

insured unemployment, as continued claims reflect a good approximation of the current number of insured unemployed

workers filing for UI benefits. The count of U.S. continued weeks claimed is also a good indicator of labor market

conditions. While continued claims are not a leading indicator (they roughly coincide with economic cycles at their peaks

and lag at cycle troughs), they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the U.S. economy.

provides the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) with a set of seasonal factors to apply to the unadjusted

data during that year. Concurrent with the implementation and release of the new seasonal factors, ETA incorporates

revisions to the UI claims historical series caused by updates to the unadjusted data. For further questions on the seasonal

adjustment methodology, please see the official release page for the UI claims seasonal adjustment factors or contact

BLS directly through the Local Area Unemployment Statistics web contact form.

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The Department's Reasonable Accommodation

Resource Center converts Departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large

relay).