Initial Unemployment claims at 389,000 (down via revision up of last week)

[papau]

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm
October 13, 2005

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending Oct. 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 389,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 391,000. The 4-week moving average was 395,750, a decrease of 8,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 404,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending Oct. 1, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.3 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Oct. 1 was 2,873,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,878,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,799,000, an increase of 73,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,725,250.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 378,980 in the week ending Oct. 8, an increase of 65,262 from the previous week. There were 338,711 initial claims in the comparable week in 2004.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent during the week ending Oct. 1, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,384,431, a decrease of 15,894 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 1.8 percent and the volume was 2,320,254.


Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending Sept. 24.

[papau]

1. Job Losses From Hurricanes Move Higher

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051013/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy;_ylt=A86.I192V05DsGQA6wJ34T0D;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--


Job Losses From Hurricanes Move Higher By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer


WASHINGTON - The number of people who have lost their jobs because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita jumped to 438,000 last week as the economic shockwaves from the nation's costliest natural disaster continued to be felt six week after Katrina careened across the Gulf Coast.

The Labor Department reported that an additional 75,000 hurricane-related claims were filed last week out of a nationwide total of 389,000 new claims for unemployment benefits.<snip>

In other economic news, the Commerce Department reported Thursday that the nation's trade deficit rose 1.8 percent in August to $59.03 billion, an increase that was driven by higher oil prices.

The rise of 75,000 in hurricane-related unemployment benefit claims was up slightly from 74,000 such claims two weeks ago, the first week that claims from Rita showed up. The highest week for claims attributed to the hurricanes was the week ending Sept. 17, when claims from Katrina totaled 108,000.

Analysts said it is likely that hurricane-related claims have peaked but they said it was likely that they will remain a significant portion of total jobless claims for several more weeks, reflecting the widespread destruction which wiped out thousands of businesses along the Gulf Coast.<snip>