By Kevin Kastner and Ian McKendry

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits fell 9,000 to a level of 423,000 after seasonal adjustment in
the September 17 employment survey week, the Labor Department reported
Thursday.

The level of initial claims was up 11,000 from the 412,000 level in
the August 23 employment survey week.

A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors and
that only claims for Washington, DC were estimated in the week. There
were no hurricane impacts reported from any state, the analyst said.

Economists surveyed by Market News International had expected
initial claims to come in at 420,000, down 8,000 from the previously
reported level of 428,000 in the September 10 week. The previous week’s
claims were revised up to a level of 432,000.

The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week moving average was
421,000 in the September 17 week, up only 500 from the previous week,
but the highest since the July 16, 2011 week, when it was 422,250.

The Labor Department analyst said seasonal factors had expected a
rise of 8.7%, or about 28,500 unadjusted claims in the current week
after the decline in the holiday-shortened previous week. Claims
actually rose only 6.5%, or 21,308 to 350,176 in the current week.
Unadjusted claims were at a level of 382,341 in the comparable week a
year earlier.

The state data released for the September 10 week indicated
unadjusted initial claims increased in 10 states and declined in 43
states. The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands are
included in this data.

In the September 10 week, continuing claims fell 28,000 to
3,727,000 after adjustment. Unadjusted continuing claims fell by 6,138
to 3,286,967.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at
3.0% in the September 10 week. The current rate is 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 by 70,009 in the
September 3 week, bringing that category to 2,996,662. Extended benefits
claims fell 33,341 to 507,700, not seasonally adjusted in the same week.

The Labor Department reported that a total of 6,889,058 persons
claimed unemployment benefits in the September 3 week, a drop of 256,256
from the previous week and still well below the 9,219,175 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$]