Washington, DC…The COVID-19 virus continues to impact the number of initial claims and insured unemployment. This report includes information on claimants filing Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation claims. In the week ending May 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 2,123,000, a decrease of 323,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 8,000 from 2,438,000 to 2,446,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,608,000, a decrease of 436,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 2,000 from 3,042,000 to 3,044,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 14.5 percent for the week ending May 16, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points from the previous week’s revised rate. The previous week’s rate was revised down by 0.1 from 17.2 to 17.1 percent. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 16 was 21,052,000, a decrease of 3,860,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 161,000 from 25,073,000 to 24,912,000. The 4-week moving average was 22,722,250, an increase of 760,250 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 40,250 from 22,002,250 to 21,962,000.

UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 1,914,958 in the week ending May 23, a decrease of 266,682 (or -12.2 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 24,458 (or 1.1 percent) from the previous week. There were 198,194 initial claims in the comparable week in 2019. In addition, for the week ending May 23, 32 states reported 1,192,616 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 13.1 percent during the week ending May 16, a decrease of 2.5 percentage points from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 19,051,706, a decrease of 3,742,432 (or -16.4 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 249,116 (or -1.1 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.1 percent and the volume was 1,509,265.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending May 9 was 30,957,122, an increase of 3,675,484 from the previous week. There were 1,569,212 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2019.

Extended Benefits were available in Alaska, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia during the week ending May 9.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,824 in the week ending May 16, an increase of 101 from the prior week. There were 1,213 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 137 from the preceding week.

There were 16,612 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending May 9, an increase of 1,207 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 14,289, an increase of 3,359 from the prior week.

For the week ending May 9, 33 states reported 7,793,066 individuals claiming Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits and 22 states reported 222,300 individuals claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending May 9 were in Washington (31.2), Nevada (26.7), Florida (25.0), Hawaii (23.4), Michigan (23.1), California (20.6), New York (19.9), Rhode Island (18.8), Vermont (18.2), Connecticut (18.0), and Georgia (18.0).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 16 were in California (+31,764), Washington (+29,288), New York (+24,543), Florida (+2,322), and Michigan (+1,549), while the largest decreases were in Georgia (-65,041), New Jersey (-27,324), Kentucky (-22,051), Louisiana (-11,580), and Pennsylvania (-11,172).

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS WEEK ENDING May 23 May 16 Change May 9 Prior Year1 Initial Claims (SA) 2,123,000 2,446,000 -323,000 2,687,000 218,000 Initial Claims (NSA) 1,914,958 2,181,640 -266,682 2,356,626 198,194 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 2,608,000 3,044,000 -436,000 3,543,000 218,250 WEEK ENDING May 16 May 9 Change May 2 Prior Year1 Insured Unemployment (SA) 21,052,000 24,912,000 -3,860,000 22,548,000 1,675,000 Insured Unemployment (NSA) 19,051,706 22,794,138 -3,742,432 20,879,704 1,509,265 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 22,722,250 21,962,000 +760,250 19,688,750 1,680,000 Insured Unemployment Rate (SA)2 14.5% 17.1% -2.6 15.5% 1.2% Insured Unemployment Rate (NSA)2 13.1% 15.6% -2.5 14.3% 1.1% INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED) WEEK ENDING May 23 May 16 Change May 9 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance 1,192,616 1,246,871 -54,255 850,184 WEEK ENDING May 16 May 9 Change Prior Year1 Federal Employees (UCFE) 1,824 1,723 +101 547 Newly Discharged Veterans (UCX) 1,213 1,076 +137 460 PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN ALL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED) WEEK ENDING May 9 May 2 Change Prior Year1 Regular State 22,725,217 20,823,294 +1,901,923 1,540,485 Federal Employees 16,612 15,405 +1,207 7,474 Newly Discharged Veterans 14,289 10,930 +3,359 5,675 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance3 7,793,066 6,120,328 +1,672,738 NA Pandemic Emergency UC4 222,300 162,727 +59,573 NA Extended Benefits5 931 426 +505 0 State Additional Benefits6 5,823 5,803 +20 6,214 STC / Workshare 7 178,884 142,725 +36,159 9,364 TOTAL8 30,957,122 27,281,638 +3,675,484 1,569,212