DOL posts UE claims-and says annual seasonal change factor change reflectd

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

Program Contact: Thomas Stengle [phone]
[phone]
April 1, 2004

Note: This week's release reflects the annual revision to the weekly unemployment claims seasonal adjustment factors. The historical factors from 1998 forward have been revised. See attachment for calendar year 2004 factors.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending March 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 342,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 345,000. The 4-week moving average was 340,250, unchanged from the previous week's revised average of 340,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending March 20, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.4 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 20 was 3,062,000, an increase of 32,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,030,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,056,500, a decrease of 14,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,071,000.


UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 295,820 in the week ending March 27, a decrease of 9,423 from the previous week. There were 371,692 initial claims in the comparable week in 2003.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.7 percent during the week ending March 20, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,398,430, a decrease of 119,576 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.1 percent and the volume was 3,939,370.


Extended benefits were available in Alaska during the week ending March 13.

53 states reported that 161,806 individuals filed continued claims under the Federal Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation (TEUC) program during the week ending March 13.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 936 in the week ending March 20, a decrease of 156 from the prior week. There were 1,508 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 181 from the preceding week.

There were 18,655 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 13, a decrease of 1,884 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 27,873, an increase of 186 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 13 were in Alaska (6.4 percent), Puerto Rico (4.5), Michigan (4.4), Pennsylvania ( 4.3), Oregon (4.1), Illinois (4.0), Wisconsin (4.0), Massachusetts (3.8), New Jersey (3.8), and Rhode Island (3.7).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 20 were in Oklahoma (+3,119), Indiana (+666), Pennsylvania (+430), Iowa (+396), and Tennessee (+339), while the largest decreases were in California (-2,832), Georgia (-1,168), North Carolina (-1,073), Texas (-971), and Delaware (-890).





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UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advance



Prior1

WEEK ENDING
March 27
March 20
Change
March 13
Year


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial Claims (SA)
342,000
345,000
-3,000
333,000
432,000

Initial Claims (NSA)
295,820
305,243
-9,423
312,067
371,692

4-Wk Moving Average (SA)
340,250
340,250
0
342,000
420,500


Advance



Prior1

WEEK ENDING
March 20
March 13
Change
March 6
Year


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ins. Unemployment (SA)
3,062,000
3,030,000
+32,000
3,077,000
3,572,000

Ins. Unemployment (NSA)
3,398,430
3,518,006
-119,576
3,551,292
4,939,370

4-Wk Moving Average (SA)
3,056,500
3,071,000
-14,500
3,100,250
3,534,250


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ins. Unemployment Rate (SA)2
2.4%
2.4%
0.0
2.4%
2.8%

Ins. Unemployment Rate (NSA)2
2.7%
2.8%
-0.1
2.8%
3.1%

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1. A Gloomy Job Picture in Two States Key to Victory - Missouri and Ohio

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/la-na-jobs1apr01,1,5060114.story?coll=la-politics-pointers

A Gloomy Job Picture in Two States Key to Victory
Missouri and Ohio had significant declines in employment during February.

WASHINGTON — The job picture for February diverged in several states that both parties are contesting most fiercely in the 2004 presidential election, according to federal figures released Wednesday.

Missouri and Ohio lost significant numbers of jobs during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. But job gains occurred in five other states seen as key to November's election: Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, Oregon and Wisconsin.

Four other states that both sides consider among the most competitive saw small losses in employment, while another — New Mexico — experienced no change, the report found.

For President Bush and his presumed Democratic challenger, John F. Kerry, the most important figures may be the large job losses in Ohio and Missouri and the smaller decline in Pennsylvania. Among them, the three states account for 52 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.

Since Bush took office, the states have seen their employment level drop by at least 2.5%, well above the national average, with even more severe losses in manufacturing jobs. And experts say it is increasingly unlikely that the economy will recover enough by November to avoid a net loss of jobs during Bush's term in these political battlegrounds.

"I don't think there is any chance states like Ohio or Pennsylvania can come back to the point where they have more jobs than in January 2001," said Charles W. McMillion, president of MBG Information Services, a Washington-based economics firm that studies job-growth trends.<snip>


http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/timespoll/




http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/external/apdigpol.ap.org/politics/?SITE=CALOSELN&SECTION=POLITICS