Washington, DC…The 1973 US population was 211.9 million and we are at 323.1 million this year. So in real terms as a percentage of US population the jobless claims are probably some of the lowest in history. In the week ending February 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 221,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 230,000. The 4-week moving average was 224,500, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 234,500. This is the lowest level for this average since March 10, 1973 when it was 222,000.

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 27, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending January 27 was 1,923,000, a decrease of 33,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up 3,000 from 1,953,000 to 1,956,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,946,000, an increase of 12,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 750 from 1,932,750 to 1,933,500.

UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 240,636 in the week ending February 3, a decrease of 27,130 (or -10.1 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 16,822 (or -6.3 percent) from the previous week. There were 259,713 initial claims in the comparable week in 2017.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.6 percent during the week ending January 27, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,305,941, a decrease of 70,297 (or -3.0 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 31,292 (or -1.3 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.8 percent and the volume was 2,482,809.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending January 20 was 2,414,099, an increase of 92,411 from the previous week. There were 2,538,269 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 20.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,919 in the week ending January 27, an increase of 915 from the prior week. There were 701 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 75 from the preceding week.

There were 14,166 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending January 20, an increase of 2,349 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 8,654, an increase of 159 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending January 20 were in the Virgin Islands (15.4), Puerto Rico (4.8), Alaska (4.3), Connecticut (3.0), New Jersey (3.0), Montana (2.9), Rhode Island (2.9), Pennsylvania (2.8), Massachusetts (2.6), and Illinois (2.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending January 27 were in Missouri (+6,132), Georgia (+3,060), Pennsylvania (+1,586), Texas (+1,482), and North Carolina (+1,237), while the largest decreases were in California (-2,687), Michigan (-1,949), New Jersey (-1,825), Ohio (-838), and South Carolina (-713).

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS WEEK ENDING February 3 January 27 Change January 20 Prior Year1 Initial Claims (SA) 221,000 230,000 -9,000 231,000 237,000 Initial Claims (NSA) 240,636 267,766 -27,130 260,070 259,713 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 224,500 234,500 -10,000 239,500 245,000 WEEK ENDING January 27 January 20 Change January 13 Prior Year1 Insured Unemployment (SA) 1,923,000 1,956,000 -33,000 1,940,000 2,067,000 Insured Unemployment (NSA) 2,305,941 2,376,238 -70,297 2,287,734 2,482,809 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 1,946,000 1,933,500 +12,500 1,920,750 2,068,500 Insured Unemployment Rate (SA)2 1.4% 1.4% 0.0 1.4% 1.5% Insured Unemployment Rate (NSA)2 1.6% 1.7% -0.1 1.6% 1.8% INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED) WEEK ENDING January 27 January 20 Change Prior Year1 Federal Employees (UCFE) 1,919 1,004 +915 1,565 Newly Discharged Veterans (UCX) 701 626 +75 976 PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN ALL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED) WEEK ENDING January 20 January 13 Change Prior Year1 Regular State 2,373,111 2,285,327 +87,784 2,490,787 Federal Employees 14,166 11,817 +2,349 14,775 Newly Discharged Veterans 8,654 8,495 +159 12,302 Extended Benefits3 1,168 1,310 -142 0 State Additional Benefits4 6,611 6,132 +479 7,706 STC / Workshare 5 10,389 8,607 +1,782 12,699 TOTAL 2,414,099 2,321,688 +92,411 2,538,269
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 February 3 Insured Unemployment For Week Ended January 27 STATE Advance Prior Wk Change Advance Prior Wk Change Alabama 2,330 3,134 -804 17,628 18,672 -1,044 Alaska 1,361 1,329 32 11,864 13,178 -1,314 Arizona 3,890 4,154 -264 20,011 22,637 -2,626 Arkansas 1,545 1,945 -400 14,238 16,398 -2,160 California 44,295 49,062 -4,767 387,104 398,473 -11,369 Colorado 2,273 2,366 -93 24,487 26,082 -1,595 Connecticut 3,759 5,265 -1,506 52,015 49,700 2,315 Delaware 595 764 -169 7,127 7,090 37 District of Columbia 647 391 256 8,564 9,201 -637 Florida 7,386 7,627 -241 35,941 45,444 -9,503 Georgia 5,929 7,912 -1,983 29,796 32,673 -2,877 Hawaii 1,196 1,349 -153 7,788 7,866 -78 Idaho 1,486 1,547 -61 11,807 12,353 -546 Illinois 10,033 10,426 -393 149,955 144,561 5,394 Indiana 3,031 3,357 -326 24,783 23,897 886 Iowa 2,849 2,610 239 32,820 32,097 723 Kansas 2,002 1,960 42 14,042 15,905 -1,863 Kentucky 3,751 3,156 595 24,339 24,941 -602 Louisiana 2,127 2,468 -341 16,377 19,093 -2,716 Maine * 1,070 1,009 61 9,900 9,507 393 Maryland 3,743 4,213 -470 36,837 40,422 -3,585 Massachusetts 5,946 6,771 -825 88,961 90,855 -1,894 Michigan 11,664 12,320 -656 84,724 90,351 -5,627 Minnesota 3,954 3,695 259 66,899 63,436 3,463 Mississippi 1,030 1,309 -279 8,695 10,312 -1,617 Missouri 3,638 11,274 -7,636 39,231 37,605 1,626 Montana 1,033 1,011 22 12,707 12,807 -100 Nebraska 800 922 -122 8,649 9,096 -447 Nevada 2,929 2,763 166 21,300 22,966 -1,666 New Hampshire 564 643 -79 4,997 5,411 -414 New Jersey 8,768 8,981 -213 120,621 118,337 2,284 New Mexico 878 975 -97 10,869 11,165 -296 New York 14,540 18,282 -3,742 179,031 179,813 -782 North Carolina 3,733 3,791 -58 22,248 23,506 -1,258 North Dakota 693 608 85 9,544 7,973 1,571 Ohio 7,666 7,486 180 81,715 82,787 -1,072 Oklahoma 1,410 1,563 -153 14,324 14,857 -533 Oregon 4,575 4,774 -199 33,006 32,582 424 Pennsylvania 17,058 18,637 -1,579 146,149 160,288 -14,139 Puerto Rico I M 2,832 2,991 -159 33,265 41,628 -8,363 Rhode Island 1,196 1,341 -145 12,955 13,243 -288 South Carolina 2,972 3,012 -40 19,238 20,270 -1,032 South Dakota 199 264 -65 3,375 3,494 -119 Tennessee 2,296 3,149 -853 23,026 25,426 -2,400 Texas 14,292 14,275 17 136,450 140,604 -4,154 Utah 1,210 953 257 12,416 12,532 -116 Vermont 462 589 -127 5,895 5,611 284 Virgin Islands I M 13 40 -27 3,720 5,748 -2,028 Virginia 3,540 3,419 121 27,685 27,746 -61 Washington 6,851 7,002 -151 66,173 64,116 2,057 West Virginia 1,193 1,564 -371 15,393 15,393 Wisconsin 7,029 6,851 178 51,175 50,863 312 Wyoming 374 467 -93 4,082 5,227 -1,145 US Total 240,636 267,766 -27,130 2,305,941 2,376,238 -70,297

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 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 1,956 16 1,933.50 1.4 January 27, 2018 230 -1 234.50 1,923 -33 1,946.00 1.4 February 3, 2018 221 -9 224.50

Initial Claims Filed During Week Ended January 27 INITIAL CLAIMS Insured Unemployment For Week Ended January 20 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 3134 433 198 29 11 18672 1.0 -411 -2075 72 71 18815 Alaska 1329 91 -104 6 1 13178 4.3 795 -1849 268 27 14641 Arizona 4154 540 -51 14 1 22637 0.9 653 -3357 307 70 23014 Arkansas 1945 116 -2 14 10 16398 1.4 911 -971 89 113 16600 California 49062 -2687 -4763 369 111 398473 2.4 59186 -31363 3477 1724 403674 Colorado 2366 -199 -223 41 16 26082 1.0 2236 -3165 473 242 26797 Connecticut 5265 1008 -108 14 2 49700 3.0 5155 -1283 50 92 49842 Delaware 764 -73 5 4 3 7090 1.6 17 -211 29 9 7128 District of Columbia 391 10 -23 34 0 9201 1.6 13 253 330 12 9543 Florida 7627 312 -506 40 36 45444 0.5 2949 632 169 205 45818 Georgia 7912 3060 723 82 46 32673 0.8 1066 -2347 195 237 33105 Hawaii 1349 287 29 7 18 7866 1.3 273 0 80 87 8033 Idaho 1547 -233 -365 29 4 12353 1.8 28 -2592 368 21 12742 Illinois 10426 781 -1439 18 12 144561 2.5 -7233 -9884 378 235 145174 Indiana 3357 -101 -1343 19 6 23897 0.8 1044 -8883 40 53 23990 Iowa 2610 -407 -84 25 3 32097 2.1 1095 -3330 66 37 32200 Kansas 1960 -359 -550 3 6 15905 1.2 673 -1017 46 49 16000 Kentucky 3156 -143 356 27 6 24941 1.4 -239 -641 135 156 25232 Louisiana 2468 731 -50 6 5 19093 1.0 -57 -3006 38 24 19155 Maine 1009 -337 -23 0 3 9507 1.6 -153 -917 47 12 9566 Maryland 4213 -20 -185 76 15 40422 1.6 807 -3599 386 131 40939 Massachusetts 6771 -551 -167 51 17 90855 2.6 2960 21 165 161 91181 Michigan 12320 -1949 1364 38 17 90351 2.1 -927 759 280 107 90738 Minnesota 3695 -226 -287 34 9 63436 2.3 549 -3280 157 74 63667 Mississippi 1309 370 -134 8 2 10312 0.9 233 -2049 51 35 10398 Missouri 11274 6132 6233 14 7 37605 1.4 1522 1163 276 67 37948 Montana 1011 -182 34 51 3 12807 2.9 486 -953 730 23 13560 Nebraska 922 -161 -110 4 1 9096 1.0 116 -199 34 16 9146 Nevada 2763 109 -341 12 2 22966 1.8 651 -2104 227 107 23300 New Hampshire 643 -42 -67 6 0 5411 0.8 22 -416 2 8 5421 New Jersey 8981 -1825 -1345 36 27 118337 3.0 2276 -1732 274 298 118909 New Mexico 975 -14 -140 4 3 11165 1.4 170 -1700 328 67 11560 New York 18282 210 579 42 37 179813 2.0 -2283 -5331 381 458 180652 North Carolina 3791 1237 -162 20 14 23506 0.6 613 -4253 101 178 23785 North Dakota 608 -161 -162 11 1 7973 2.0 149 -921 22 7 8002 Ohio 7486 -838 -4381 30 18 82787 1.6 -3184 -1535 142 210 83139 Oklahoma 1563 91 -177 24 0 14857 1.0 -167 -3627 63 93 15013 Oregon 4774 217 -2533 93 12 32582 1.8 410 -4705 778 118 33478 Pennsylvania 18637 1586 -667 177 47 160288 2.8 12043 9127 642 312 161242 Puerto Rico 2991 287 886 0 9 41628 4.8 1755 17999 18 56 41702 Rhode Island 1341 -344 -89 5 1 13243 2.9 1574 209 20 24 13287 South Carolina 3012 -713 433 14 6 20270 1.0 -21 2856 57 72 20399 South Dakota 264 -50 -63 9 0 3494 0.9 125 -334 55 2 3551 Tennessee 3149 -186 26 20 7 25426 0.9 1352 2598 123 71 25620 Texas 14275 1482 -843 146 107 140604 1.2 -3745 -25288 601 1404 142609 Utah 953 21 -511 132 2 12532 0.9 36 -2351 362 25 12919 Vermont 589 78 14 4 0 5611 1.9 -181 -562 11 5 5627 Virgin Islands 40 26 8 1 0 5748 15.4 2732 5128 4 0 5752 Virginia 3419 -353 -670 18 10 27746 0.8 -309 -2100 275 331 28352 Washington 7002 190 -104 16 15 64116 2.0 -653 -4427 527 624 65267 West Virginia 1564 -188 -1 3 4 15393 2.3 181 -1472 60 41 15494 Wisconsin 6851 607 -1251 23 7 50863 1.8 275 -7781 128 36 51027 Wyoming 467 26 -81 16 1 5227 2.0 936 -1444 229 17 5473 Totals 267766 7696 -13217 1919 701 2376238 1.7 88504 -118309 14166 8654 2400226
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 27, 2018

STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 State Change State Supplied Comment MO +6,132 Layoffs in the professional, scientific and technical service industry. GA +3,060 Layoffs in the administrative, support, waste management and remediation service, manufacturing, and trade industries. PA +1,586 Layoffs in the transportation and warehousing, administrative, support, waste management and remediation service, accommodation and food service, and construction industries. TX +1,482 Layoffs in the manufacturing, health care and social assistance and transportation and warehousing industries. NC +1,237 Layoffs in the administrative, support, waste management and remediation service, retail trade, and manufacturing industries. CT +1,008 No comment.

STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 State Change State Supplied Comment CA -2,687 Fewer layoffs in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry. MI -1,949 Fewer layoffs in the wholesale trade industry. NJ -1,825 Fewer layoffs in the trade, construction, and transportation and warehousing industries.

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 18-217-NAT Program Contacts: Tony Sznoluch (202) 693-3176 Sandra Trujillo (202) 693-2933 Media Contact: (202) 693-4676