U.S. unemployment claims decrease

In the week ending May 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims in the U.S. was 444,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised figure. The four-week moving average was 450,500, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.6 percent for the week ending May 1, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 1 was 4.627 million, an increase of 12,000 from the preceding week’s revised level. The four-week moving average was approximately 4.64 million, a decrease of 14,750 from the preceding week’s revised average.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.174 million.