Washington, DC…In the week ending January 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 230,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 2,000 from 233,000 to 231,000. The 4-week moving average was 234,500, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 500 from 240,000 to 239,500.

Claims taking procedures in Puerto Rico and in the Virgin Islands have still not returned to normal.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.4 percent for the week ending January 20, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending January 20 was 1,953,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up 3,000 from 1,937,000 to 1,940,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,932,750, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 750 from 1,920,000 to 1,920,750.

UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 267,674 in the week ending January 27, an increase of 7,604 (or 2.9 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 8,792 (or 3.4 percent) from the previous week. There were 280,983 initial claims in the comparable week in 2017.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.7 percent during the week ending January 20, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,373,175, an increase of 85,441 (or 3.7 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 69,854 (or 3.1 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.8 percent and the volume was 2,494,547.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending January 13 was 2,321,688, a decrease of 132,222 from the previous week. There were 2,505,316 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2017.

Extended benefits were available in Alaska and the Virgin Islands during the week ending January 13.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,004 in the week ending January 20, a decrease of 654 from the prior week. There were 626 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 213 from the preceding week.

There were 11,817 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending January 13, a decrease of 2,674 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 8,495, a decrease of 243 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending January 13 were in the Virgin Islands (8.1), Puerto Rico (4.6), Alaska (4.0), New Jersey (2.9), Montana (2.8), Connecticut (2.7), Illinois (2.6), Pennsylvania (2.6), Massachusetts (2.5), and Rhode Island (2.5).

There were no increases in initial claims for the week ending January 20, the largest decreases were in Pennsylvania (-10,925), Texas (-7,747), California (-7,213), Georgia (-6,438), and New York (-4,954).
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS WEEK ENDING January 27 January 20 Change January 13 Prior Year1 Initial Claims (SA) 230,000 231,000 -1,000 216,000 250,000 Initial Claims (NSA) 267,674 260,070 +7,604 354,050 280,983 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 234,500 239,500 -5,000 243,500 247,000 WEEK ENDING January 20 January 13 Change January 6 Prior Year1 Insured Unemployment (SA) 1,953,000 1,940,000 +13,000 1,965,000 2,063,000 Insured Unemployment (NSA) 2,373,175 2,287,734 +85,441 2,416,486 2,494,547 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 1,932,750 1,920,750 +12,000 1,923,500 2,072,000 Insured Unemployment Rate (SA)2 1.4% 1.4% 0.0 1.4% 1.5% Insured Unemployment Rate (NSA)2 1.7% 1.6% +0.1 1.7% 1.8% INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED) WEEK ENDING January 20 January 13 Change Prior Year1 Federal Employees (UCFE) 1,004 1,658 -654 1,007 Newly Discharged Veterans (UCX) 626 839 -213 776 PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN ALL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED) WEEK ENDING January 13 January 6 Change Prior Year1 Regular State 2,285,327 2,413,748 -128,421 2,460,515 Federal Employees 11,817 14,491 -2,674 13,226 Newly Discharged Veterans 8,495 8,738 -243 12,263 Extended Benefits3 1,310 1,409 -99 0 State Additional Benefits4 6,132 6,110 +22 6,834 STC / Workshare 5 8,607 9,414 -807 12,478 TOTAL 2,321,688 2,453,910 -132,222 2,505,316

FOOTNOTES SA – Seasonally Adjusted Data, NSA – Not Seasonally Adjusted Data
1. Prior year is comparable to most recent data.
2. Most recent week used covered employment of 141,013,239 as denominator.
3. Information on the EB program can be found here: EB Program information
4. Some states maintain additional benefit programs for those claimants who exhaust regular, extended and emergency benefits. Information on states that participate, and the extent of benefits paid, can be found starting on page 4-5 of this link: Extensions and Special Programs PDF
5. Information on STC/Worksharing can be found starting on page 4-9 of the following link: Extensions and Special Programs PDF

Advance State Claims – Not Seasonally Adjusted Initial Claims Filed During Week Ended January 27 Insured Unemployment For Week Ended January 20 STATE Advance Prior Wk Change Advance Prior Wk Change Alabama 2,947 2,701 246 18,365 19,083 -718 Alaska 1,450 1,238 212 13,002 12,383 619 Arizona 3,973 3,614 359 19,919 21,984 -2,065 Arkansas 1,810 1,829 -19 15,416 15,487 -71 California 49,601 51,749 -2,148 405,976 339,287 66,689 Colorado 2,357 2,565 -208 26,673 23,846 2,827 Connecticut 5,278 4,257 1,021 51,804 44,545 7,259 Delaware 744 837 -93 7,305 7,073 232 District of Columbia 692 381 311 8,612 9,188 -576 Florida 7,343 7,315 28 39,452 42,495 -3,043 Georgia 7,673 4,852 2,821 31,146 31,607 -461 Hawaii 1,381 1,062 319 8,117 7,593 524 Idaho 1,686 1,780 -94 11,864 12,325 -461 Illinois 10,458 9,645 813 146,170 151,794 -5,624 Indiana 3,508 3,458 50 24,631 22,853 1,778 Iowa 3,025 3,017 8 33,303 31,002 2,301 Kansas 2,004 2,319 -315 16,246 15,232 1,014 Kentucky 3,130 3,299 -169 24,600 25,180 -580 Louisiana 2,245 1,737 508 16,523 19,150 -2,627 Maine * 1,011 1,346 -335 9,560 9,660 -100 Maryland 3,828 4,233 -405 37,222 39,615 -2,393 Massachusetts 6,674 7,322 -648 89,980 87,895 2,085 Michigan 12,080 14,269 -2,189 88,330 91,278 -2,948 Minnesota 3,877 3,921 -44 66,840 62,887 3,953 Mississippi 1,081 939 142 8,984 10,079 -1,095 Missouri 11,000 5,142 5,858 36,547 36,083 464 Montana 1,048 1,193 -145 13,175 12,321 854 Nebraska 918 1,083 -165 9,082 8,980 102 Nevada 3,010 2,654 356 21,338 22,315 -977 New Hampshire 603 685 -82 5,042 5,389 -347 New Jersey 8,871 10,806 -1,935 121,093 116,061 5,032 New Mexico 947 989 -42 10,800 10,995 -195 New York 18,414 18,072 342 181,326 182,096 -770 North Carolina 3,945 2,554 1,391 22,088 22,893 -805 North Dakota 736 769 -33 9,535 7,824 1,711 Ohio 7,544 8,324 -780 83,624 85,971 -2,347 Oklahoma 1,396 1,472 -76 14,441 15,024 -583 Oregon 4,782 4,557 225 32,751 32,172 579 Pennsylvania 18,694 17,051 1,643 162,651 148,245 14,406 Puerto Rico I M 2,827 2,704 123 39,154 39,873 -719 Rhode Island 1,333 1,685 -352 13,372 11,669 1,703 South Carolina 2,876 3,725 -849 19,827 20,291 -464 South Dakota 248 314 -66 3,409 3,369 40 Tennessee 3,024 3,335 -311 23,695 24,074 -379 Texas 13,947 12,793 1,154 138,992 144,349 -5,357 Utah 1,362 932 430 12,408 12,496 -88 Vermont 574 511 63 5,919 5,792 127 Virgin Islands 18 14 4 5,750 3,016 2,734 Virginia 3,713 3,772 -59 28,601 28,055 546 Washington 7,052 6,812 240 66,164 64,769 1,395 West Virginia I M 1,453 1,752 -299 15,920 15,212 708 Wisconsin 6,982 6,244 738 51,393 50,588 805 Wyoming 501 441 60 5,038 4,291 747 US Total 267,674 260,070 7,604 2,373,175 2,287,734 85,441

Note: Advance Claims are not directly comparable to claims reported in prior weeks. Advance claims are reported by the state liable for paying the unemployment compensation, whereas previous weeks reported reflect claimants by state of residence. In addition, claims reported as “workshare equivalent” in the previous week are added to the advance claims as a proxy for the current week’s “workshare equivalent” activity.

*Denotes state estimate.
IAffected by Hurricane Irma.
MAffected by Hurricane Maria.
Seasonally Adjusted US Weekly UI Claims (in thousands) Week Ending Initial Claims Change from Prior Week 4-Week Average Insured Unemployment Change from Prior Week 4-Week Average IUR January 21, 2017 252 11 244.75 2,063 -20 2,072.00 1.5 January 28, 2017 250 -2 247.00 2,067 4 2,068.50 1.5 February 4, 2017 237 -13 245.00 2,071 4 2,071.00 1.5 February 11, 2017 248 11 246.75 2,052 -19 2,063.25 1.5 February 18, 2017 247 -1 245.50 2,057 5 2,061.75 1.5 February 25, 2017 227 -20 239.75 2,059 2 2,059.75 1.5 March 4, 2017 252 25 243.50 2,025 -34 2,048.25 1.5 March 11, 2017 246 -6 243.00 1,987 -38 2,032.00 1.4 March 18, 2017 261 15 246.50 2,052 65 2,030.75 1.5 March 25, 2017 259 -2 254.50 2,035 -17 2,024.75 1.5 April 1, 2017 235 -24 250.25 2,028 -7 2,025.50 1.5 April 8, 2017 234 -1 247.25 1,978 -50 2,023.25 1.4 April 15, 2017 243 9 242.75 1,987 9 2,007.00 1.4 April 22, 2017 257 14 242.25 1,979 -8 1,993.00 1.4 April 29, 2017 238 -19 243.00 1,920 -59 1,966.00 1.4 May 6, 2017 236 -2 243.50 1,899 -21 1,946.25 1.4 May 13, 2017 233 -3 241.00 1,924 25 1,930.50 1.4 May 20, 2017 235 2 235.50 1,919 -5 1,915.50 1.4 May 27, 2017 255 20 239.75 1,929 10 1,917.75 1.4 June 3, 2017 245 -10 242.00 1,936 7 1,927.00 1.4 June 10, 2017 238 -7 243.25 1,942 6 1,931.50 1.4 June 17, 2017 242 4 245.00 1,945 3 1,938.00 1.4 June 24, 2017 244 2 242.25 1,965 20 1,947.00 1.4 July 1, 2017 250 6 243.50 1,949 -16 1,950.25 1.4 July 8, 2017 248 -2 246.00 1,977 28 1,959.00 1.4 July 15, 2017 234 -14 244.00 1,965 -12 1,964.00 1.4 July 22, 2017 245 11 244.25 1,967 2 1,964.50 1.4 July 29, 2017 241 -4 242.00 1,956 -11 1,966.25 1.4 August 5, 2017 244 3 241.00 1,954 -2 1,960.50 1.4 August 12, 2017 232 -12 240.50 1,954 0 1,957.75 1.4 August 19, 2017 235 3 238.00 1,945 -9 1,952.25 1.4 August 26, 2017 236 1 236.75 1,951 6 1,951.00 1.4 September 2, 2017 298 62 250.25 1,935 -16 1,946.25 1.4 September 9, 2017 281 -17 262.50 1,979 44 1,952.50 1.4 September 16, 2017 260 -21 268.75 1,911 -68 1,944.00 1.4 September 23, 2017 269 9 277.00 1,921 10 1,936.50 1.4 September 30, 2017 258 -11 267.00 1,904 -17 1,928.75 1.4 October 7, 2017 244 -14 257.75 1,896 -8 1,908.00 1.3 October 14, 2017 223 -21 248.50 1,900 4 1,905.25 1.4 October 21, 2017 234 11 239.75 1,884 -16 1,896.00 1.3 October 28, 2017 229 -5 232.50 1,904 20 1,896.00 1.4 November 4, 2017 239 10 231.25 1,868 -36 1,889.00 1.3 November 11, 2017 252 13 238.50 1,915 47 1,892.75 1.4 November 18, 2017 240 -12 240.00 1,960 45 1,911.75 1.4 November 25, 2017 238 -2 242.25 1,911 -49 1,913.50 1.4 December 2, 2017 236 -2 241.50 1,889 -22 1,918.75 1.3 December 9, 2017 225 -11 234.75 1,936 47 1,924.00 1.4 December 16, 2017 245 20 236.00 1,951 15 1,921.75 1.4 December 23, 2017 247 2 238.25 1,905 -46 1,920.25 1.4 December 30, 2017 250 3 241.75 1,873 -32 1,916.25 1.3 January 6, 2018 261 11 250.75 1,965 92 1,923.50 1.4 January 13, 2018 216 -45 243.50 1,940 -25 1,920.75 1.4 January 20, 2018 231 15 239.50 1,953 13 1,932.75 1.4 January 27, 2018 230 -1 234.50

Initial Claims Filed During Week Ended January 20 INITIAL CLAIMS Insured Unemployment For Week Ended January 13 INSURED UNEMPLOYMENT STATE STATE CHANGE FROM UCFE 1 UCX 1 STATE (%) 2 CHANGE FROM UCFE 1 UCX 1 ALL PROGRAMS EXCLUDING RAILROAD RETIREMENT LAST WEEK YEAR AGO LAST WEEK YEAR AGO Alabama 2701 -1686 -259 17 8 19083 1.0 -2669 -2394 67 79 19229 Alaska 1238 -461 -174 8 2 12383 4.0 -879 -2223 192 40 13924 Arizona 3614 -1057 -330 21 6 21984 0.8 -519 -3928 288 75 22347 Arkansas 1829 -518 -225 6 3 15487 1.3 -1434 -1954 75 114 15676 California 51749 -7213 -10165 238 117 339287 2.0 -44414 -43427 2134 1683 343104 Colorado 2565 -447 -298 34 22 23846 0.9 -22 -7981 260 245 24351 Connecticut 4257 -2792 -1054 3 4 44545 2.7 -7184 -4593 49 90 44684 Delaware 837 -551 56 0 1 7073 1.6 -661 -100 23 10 7106 District of Columbia 381 -57 63 19 1 9188 1.6 147 315 351 16 9555 Florida 7315 -1686 -77 20 43 42495 0.5 -2274 -2498 153 180 42828 Georgia 4852 -6438 -2104 20 19 31607 0.8 -9096 -3729 204 234 32045 Hawaii 1062 -510 -103 6 14 7593 1.2 -1030 -634 75 105 7773 Idaho 1780 -875 -237 28 4 12325 1.8 -93 -2719 355 17 12697 Illinois 9645 -4929 -1913 8 10 151794 2.6 1047 -9683 285 251 152330 Indiana 3458 -1975 -487 2 7 22853 0.8 483 -9208 41 50 22944 Iowa 3017 -1331 202 5 2 31002 2.0 -1762 -4286 58 41 31101 Kansas 2319 -1281 -324 1 0 15232 1.1 604 -1718 54 47 15333 Kentucky 3299 -699 274 3 2 25180 1.4 1075 -1607 140 159 25479 Louisiana 1737 -1208 -721 9 7 19150 1.0 -774 -3504 41 32 19223 Maine 1346 -420 203 3 0 9660 1.6 599 -444 27 12 9699 Maryland 4233 -820 10 30 8 39615 1.6 3531 -3969 384 112 40111 Massachusetts 7322 -3240 262 15 12 87895 2.5 -3384 -1440 142 160 88197 Michigan 14269 -921 3667 23 13 91278 2.2 -3480 -1687 187 109 91574 Minnesota 3921 -1668 -227 6 3 62887 2.2 -3437 -4190 137 75 63099 Mississippi 939 -794 -391 2 3 10079 0.9 -623 -2545 49 29 10157 Missouri 5142 -2128 195 7 3 36083 1.3 -2304 -197 283 59 36425 Montana 1193 -622 44 51 5 12321 2.8 357 -2239 586 24 12931 Nebraska 1083 -272 30 3 1 8980 0.9 -424 -192 23 18 9021 Nevada 2654 -591 -178 9 3 22315 1.7 -200 -2513 183 77 22575 New Hampshire 685 -125 -67 1 1 5389 0.8 -12 -333 6 10 5405 New Jersey 10806 -4234 177 22 23 116061 2.9 -5592 -1406 261 298 116620 New Mexico 989 -179 -181 5 1 10995 1.4 -376 -1875 317 61 11373 New York 18072 -4954 659 34 48 182096 2.0 -5991 -3346 355 440 182891 North Carolina 2554 -1929 -1449 2 9 22893 0.5 352 -5430 92 168 23153 North Dakota 769 -1093 -24 2 0 7824 1.9 323 -1232 11 7 7842 Ohio 8324 -3866 116 13 19 85971 1.6 -890 1316 141 227 86339 Oklahoma 1472 -366 -331 11 7 15024 1.0 -323 -3637 70 92 15186 Oregon 4557 -410 -2050 51 12 32172 1.8 -976 -5796 769 110 33051 Pennsylvania 17051 -10925 -2603 73 43 148245 2.6 -16303 -13219 526 347 149118 Puerto Rico 2704 -1215 274 0 6 39873 4.6 -6965 17018 24 32 39929 Rhode Island 1685 -303 295 3 4 11669 2.5 -663 -741 14 19 11702 South Carolina 3725 -2151 1018 7 12 20291 1.0 -1765 3003 56 65 20413 South Dakota 314 -170 27 1 0 3369 0.8 0 -443 41 3 3413 Tennessee 3335 -1058 -30 11 8 24074 0.8 -613 1388 122 70 24266 Texas 12793 -7747 -2271 57 83 144349 1.2 170 -17326 638 1281 146268 Utah 932 -520 -548 66 2 12496 0.9 626 -2306 392 25 12913 Vermont 511 -213 -100 2 1 5792 1.9 -284 -593 11 5 5808 Virgin Islands 14 -29 -8 0 0 3016 8.1 -1168 2534 0 0 3016 Virginia 3772 -325 -621 14 10 28055 0.8 -324 -2535 300 370 28725 Washington 6812 -1541 -762 19 9 64769 2.0 -1015 -3837 513 629 65911 West Virginia 1752 -757 90 2 0 15212 2.3 -1417 -2486 59 43 15314 Wisconsin 6244 -2365 -1242 6 4 50588 1.8 -6357 -7197 123 40 50751 Wyoming 441 -315 -68 5 1 4291 1.6 -369 -2792 130 10 4431 Totals 260070 -93980 -23960 1004 626 2287734 1.6 -128752 -176558 11817 8495 2309356
Figures Appearing In columns showing Over-The-Week Changes reflect all revisions in data for prior week submitted by State agencies.
1. The Unemployment Compensation program for Federal Employees (UCFE) and the Unemployment Compensation for Ex-servicemembers (UCX) exclude claims filed jointly under other programs to avoid duplication.
2. Rate is not seasonally adjusted. The source of US total covered employment is BLS.
UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED JANUARY 20, 2018
STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 State Change State Supplied Comment None

STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 State Change State Supplied Comment PA -10,925 Fewer layoffs in the construction, administrative, support, waste management and remediation service, and transportation and warehousing, industries. TX -7,747 No comment. CA -7,213 Fewer layoffs in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry. GA -6,438 Fewer layoffs in the manufacturing, construction, administrative, support, waste management and remediation service, trade, and accommodation and food service industries. NY -4,954 Fewer layoffs in the construction, transportation and warehousing, and accommodation and food service industries. IL -4,929 No comment. NJ -4,234 Fewer layoffs in the construction, manufacturing, trade, transportation and warehousing, and accommodation and food service industries. OH -3,866 No comment. MA -3,240 Fewer layoffs in the construction, transportation and warehousing, administrative, support, waste management and remediation service, and accommodation and food service industries. CT -2,792 No comment. WI -2,365 Fewer layoffs in the construction, manufacturing, and transportation and warehousing industries. SC -2,151 No comment. MO -2,128 Fewer layoffs in the construction, administrative, support, waste management and remediation service, and accommodation and food service industries. IN -1,975 No comment. NC -1,929 Fewer layoffs in the accommodation and food service, administrative, support, waste management and remediation service, and construction industries. FL -1,686 Fewer layoffs in the construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, and service industries. AL -1,686 Fewer layoffs in the administrative, support, waste management and remediation service, construction, retail trade, and accommodation and food service industries. MN -1,668 No comment. WA -1,541 No comment. IA -1,331 No comment. KS -1,281 No comment. PR -1,215 No comment. LA -1,208 No comment. ND -1,093 No comment. TN -1,058 No comment. AZ -1,057 No comment.

TECHNICAL NOTES
This news release presents the weekly unemployment insurance (UI) claims reported by each state’s unemployment insurance program offices. These claims may be used for monitoring workload volume, assessing state program operations and for assessing labor market conditions. States initially report claims directly taken by the state liable for the benefit payments, regardless of where the claimant who filed the claim resided. These are the basis for the advance initial claims and continued claims reported each week. These data come from ETA 538, Advance Weekly Initial and Continued Claims Report. The following week initial claims and continued claims are revised based on a second reporting by states that reflect the claimants by state of residence. These data come from the ETA 539, Weekly Claims and Extended

Benefits Trigger Data Report.
A. Initial Claims
An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The claimant requests a determination of basic eligibility for the UI program. When an initial claim is filed with a state, certain programmatic activities take place and these result in activity counts including the count of initial claims. The count of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions in the country. However, these are weekly administrative data which are difficult to seasonally adjust, making the series subject to some volatility.
B. Continued Weeks Claimed

A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment then files a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. Continued claims are also referred to as insured unemployment. The count of U.S. continued weeks claimed is also a good indicator of labor market conditions. Continued claims reflect the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for UI benefits in the nation. While continued claims are not a leading indicator (they roughly coincide with economic cycles at their peaks and lag at cycle troughs), they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the U.S. economy.
C. Seasonal Adjustments and Annual Revisions

Over the course of a year, the weekly changes in the levels of initial claims and continued claims undergo regularly occurring fluctuations. These fluctuations may result from seasonal changes in weather, major holidays, the opening and closing of schools, or other similar events. Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year, their influence on the level of a series can be tempered by adjusting for regular seasonal variation. These adjustments make trend and cycle developments easier to spot. At the beginning of each calendar year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) with a set of seasonal factors to apply to the unadjusted data during that year. Concurrent with the implementation and release of the new seasonal factors, ETA incorporates revisions to the UI claims historical series caused by updates to the unadjusted data.

Weekly Claims Archives Weekly Claims Data
U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The Departments Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts Departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the Department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).
U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Washington, D.C. 20210 Release Number: USDL 18-172-NAT Program Contacts: Tony Sznoluch (202) 693-3176 Sandra Trujillo (202) 693-2933 Media Contact: (202) 693-4676