US weekly unemployment claims fall

Initial claims for unemployment insurance in the United States decreased by 19,000 to 241,000 in the week ending October 12, according to the latest data from the US Department of Labour. This marks a four-week moving average of 236,250.

The insured unemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.2 per cent for the week ending October 5. The number of insured unemployed rose by 9,000 to 1,867,000.

Unadjusted data shows a decline of 11,416 in initial claims for the week ending October 12. The insured unemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.1 per cent, and the number of insured unemployed decreased by 18,278.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programmes increased by 496 to 1,637,496 for the week ending September 28.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 345 in the week ending October 5, while newly discharged veterans filed 477 claims.

The highest insured unemployment rates were in New Jersey, California, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Washington, Nevada, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

The largest increases in initial claims were in Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, California, and Florida, while the largest decreases were in Wyoming, Idaho, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Alaska.

Attribution: US Department of Labour