Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending April 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 344,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 329,000 to 330,000. The 4-week moving average was 320,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 316,750 to 317,000.

Special Factors Impacting This Week’s Initial Claims

There were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Increases

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent for the week ending April 19, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate of 2.0 percent. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 19 was 2,771,000, an increase of 97,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 6,000 from 2,680,000 to 2,674,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,734,000, a decrease of 16,750 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since December 29, 2007 when it was 2,730,250. The previous week’s average was revised down by 1,500 from 2,752,250 to 2,750,750.