By Kevin Kastner and Ian McKendry

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits fell 6,000 to 403,000 in the October 15 employment survey week,
slightly below expectations, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The claims level in the most recent week was down 25,000 from the
428,000 level in the September 17 employment survey week.

A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors in
the current week and no states were estimated. The analyst said seasonal
factors had expected a decline of 10.3%, or about 41,700 in unadjusted
claims following the start-of-the-quarter spike in the previous week.
Unadjusted claims actually fell 47,229 to 356,825 in the current week.
Unadjusted claims were at a level of 394,016 in the comparable week a
year earlier.

Economists surveyed by Market News International had expected
initial claims to come in at 405,000, up 1,000 from the previously
reported level of 404,000 in the October 8 week. The previous week’s
claims were revised up to a level of 409,000.

The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week moving average was
403,000 in the October 15 week, down 6,250 from the previous week and
the lowest level since 399,250 in the April 16, 2011 week.

The state data released for the October 8 week indicated unadjusted
initial claims increased in 49 states and declined in 4 states. The
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands are included in
this data.

In the October 8 week, continuing claims rose 25,000 to 3,719,000
after seasonal adjustment. Unadjusted continuing claims rose only 2,431
to 3,116,875.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at
2.9% in the October 8, and was well below the 3.5% rate in the
comparable week a year earlier.

The unemployment rate among the insured labor force is well below
that reported monthly by the Labor Department because claims are
approved for the most part only for job losers, not the job leavers and
labor force reentrants included in the monthly report.

The Labor Department said that the level of unadjusted Emergency
Unemployment Compensation benefits claims fell 48,981 in the October 1
week, bringing that category to 2,967,054. Extended benefits claims fell
by 19,410 to 517,755, not seasonally adjusted in the same week.

The Labor Department reported that a total of 6,697,346 persons
claimed unemployment benefits in the October 1 week, a decline of
124,239 from the previous week and still well below the 8,897,391
persons in the comparable week a year ago. These data are not seasonally
adjusted, and include regular state claims, federal employee claims, new
veterans claims, the EUC and extended benefits programs, state
additional benefits, and STC/Workshare claims.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]