SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending December 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 364,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 368,000. The 4-week moving average was 380,250, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised average of 388,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.8 percent for the week ending December 10, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 10, was 3,546,000, a decrease of 79,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,625,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,631,750, a decrease of 40,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,671,750.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 418,466 in the week ending December 17, a decrease of 17,256 from the previous week. There were 495,548 initial claims in the comparable week in 2010.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent during the week ending December 10, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,606,352, an increase of 67,895 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.3 percent and the volume was 4,179,504.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending December 3 was 7,149,769, a decrease of 299,738 from the previous week.

Extended benefits were available in Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin during the week ending December 3.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 2,421 in the week ending December 10, an increase of 52 from the prior week. There were 2,931 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 52 from the preceding week.

There were 30,501 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending December 3, a decrease of 392 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 42,003, a decrease of 2,322 from the prior week.

States reported 2,941,157 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending December 3, a decrease of 107,769 from the prior week. There were 3,789,029 claimants in the comparable week in 2010. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending December 3 were in Alaska (6.3), Puerto Rico (4.5), Pennsylvania (4.2), Oregon (4.1), California (3.8), Idaho (3.6), Montana (3.6), Nevada (3.6), Arkansas (3.5), New Jersey (3.5), and Wisconsin (3.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending December 10 were in New Jersey (+3,068), Florida (+2,889), Massachusetts (+1,882), Iowa (+1,046), and Nebraska (+777) while the largest decreases were in California (-15,583), New York (-11,486), North Carolina (-11,251), Pennsylvania (-9,812), and Ohio (-5,771).

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS

INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)

PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN ALL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)

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 126,188,733 as denominator. 3 - EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity. Tier-specific EUC data can be found here: http://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/docs/persons.xls4 - Information on the EB program can be found here: http://www.ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/extenben.asp 5 - Some states maintain additional benefit programs for those claimants who exhaust regular, extended and emergency benefits. Information on states that participate, and the extent of benefits paid, can be found starting on page 4-5 of this link: http://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/pdf/uilawcompar/2010/special.pdf 6 - Information on STC/Worksharing can be found starting on page 4-9 of the following link: http://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/pdf/uilawcompar/2010/special.pdf

UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED 12/10/2011

STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000

STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000

State Detail Prior WeekUI Claims Series 1967 to current

This information will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-693-4676. TDD Message Phone: 1-800-326-2577. News releases from the U.S. Department of Labor are accessible on the Internet at: http://www.dol.gov/ and http://www.ows.doleta.gov/