Washington, DC…In the week ending March 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 202,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since December 6, 1969 when it was 202,000. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 211,000 to 212,000. The 4-week moving average was 213,500, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 217,250 to 217,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending March 23, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 23 was 1,717,000, a decrease of 38,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 1,000 from 1,756,000 to 1,755,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,743,250, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 1,751,250.

UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 182,553 in the week ending March 30, a decrease of 7,522 (or -4.0 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 1,058 (or 0.6 percent) from the previous week. There were 201,057 initial claims in the comparable week in 2018.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3 percent during the week ending March 23, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 1,898,456, a decrease of 111,012 (or -5.5 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 68,445 (or -3.4 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.4 percent and the volume was 2,003,104.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending March 16 was 2,040,235, an increase of 913 from the previous week. There were 2,145,839 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2018.

No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending March 16.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 602 in the week ending March 23, an increase of 23 from the prior week. There were 480 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 27 from the preceding week.

There were 11,079 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 16, an increase of 374 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 6,068, a decrease of 67 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 16 were in Alaska (3.0), New Jersey (2.6), Connecticut (2.5), Rhode Island (2.5), Montana (2.4), California (2.3), Pennsylvania (2.3), Illinois (2.2), Massachusetts (2.2), and Minnesota (2.0).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 23 were in Texas (+2,802), Arkansas (+821), Maryland (+330), Missouri (+324), and New Mexico (+160), while the largest decreases were in California (-1,296), Pennsylvania (-1,181), Oklahoma (-1,097), Wisconsin (-583), and Ohio (-468).

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS WEEK ENDING March 30 March 23 Change March 16 Prior Year1 Initial Claims (SA) 202,000 212,000 -10,000 216,000 231,000 Initial Claims (NSA) 182,553 190,075 -7,522 194,382 201,057 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 213,500 217,500 -4,000 220,500 222,750 WEEK ENDING March 23 March 16 Change March 9 Prior Year1 Insured Unemployment (SA) 1,717,000 1,755,000 -38,000 1,744,000 1,818,000 Insured Unemployment (NSA) 1,898,456 2,009,468 -111,012 2,008,521 2,003,104 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 1,743,250 1,751,250 -8,000 1,755,750 1,838,750 Insured Unemployment Rate (SA)2 1.2% 1.2% 0.0 1.2% 1.3% Insured Unemployment Rate (NSA)2 1.3% 1.4% -0.1 1.4% 1.4% INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED) WEEK ENDING March 23 March 16 Change Prior Year1 Federal Employees (UCFE) 602 579 +23 582 Newly Discharged Veterans (UCX) 480 507 -27 596 PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN ALL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED) WEEK ENDING March 16 March 9 Change Prior Year1 Regular State 2,006,472 2,005,466 +1,006 2,109,554 Federal Employees 11,079 10,705 +374 11,693 Newly Discharged Veterans 6,068 6,135 -67 7,903 Extended Benefits3 0 1 -1 1,018 State Additional Benefits4 5,854 6,063 -209 6,937 STC / Workshare 5 10,762 10,952 -190 8,734 TOTAL 2,040,235 2,039,322 +913 2,145,839

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 143,051,794 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 March 30 Insured Unemployment For Week Ended March 23 STATE Advance Prior Wk Change Advance Prior Wk Change Alabama 2,131 2,220 -89 14,028 14,269 -241 Alaska 974 850 124 8,390 9,264 -874 Arizona 3,507 3,402 105 16,810 18,987 -2,177 Arkansas 1,111 2,263 -1,152 9,886 10,415 -529 California* 38,077 39,832 -1,755 372,550 384,846 -12,296 Colorado 1,497 1,550 -53 20,885 22,886 -2,001 Connecticut 1,964 2,508 -544 40,216 41,127 -911 Delaware 410 460 -50 5,232 5,403 -171 District of Columbia 407 388 19 6,791 7,237 -446 Florida 5,113 5,353 -240 29,605 34,930 -5,325 Georgia 4,035 4,182 -147 22,828 23,918 -1,090 Hawaii 1,282 1,055 227 6,916 6,529 387 Idaho 1,129 1,104 25 7,523 8,666 -1,143 Illinois 9,295 7,933 1,362 120,709 131,314 -10,605 Indiana 2,093 2,069 24 18,765 19,668 -903 Iowa 2,084 2,272 -188 27,611 29,330 -1,719 Kansas 1,508 1,271 237 9,488 10,886 -1,398 Kentucky 2,110 1,957 153 17,572 20,317 -2,745 Louisiana 1,521 1,619 -98 11,829 14,074 -2,245 Maine 664 561 103 8,449 8,166 283 Maryland 2,297 2,923 -626 27,347 28,913 -1,566 Massachusetts 3,656 4,301 -645 74,819 78,594 -3,775 Michigan 4,607 4,887 -280 68,550 78,958 -10,408 Minnesota 3,167 3,313 -146 57,931 57,679 252 Mississippi 731 930 -199 5,974 7,484 -1,510 Missouri 2,845 3,557 -712 21,062 23,273 -2,211 Montana 713 729 -16 10,388 10,768 -380 Nebraska 638 730 -92 5,971 6,899 -928 Nevada 2,136 2,115 21 17,516 19,152 -1,636 New Hampshire 400 516 -116 3,923 4,240 -317 New Jersey 6,817 7,485 -668 101,789 104,241 -2,452 New Mexico 810 837 -27 9,154 9,540 -386 New York 13,149 12,684 465 149,335 152,162 -2,827 North Carolina 2,662 2,796 -134 18,346 20,023 -1,677 North Dakota 301 211 90 5,949 5,891 58 Ohio 6,233 5,981 252 62,284 65,235 -2,951 Oklahoma 1,496 1,572 -76 13,026 14,217 -1,191 Oregon 4,176 3,855 321 29,065 30,185 -1,120 Pennsylvania 10,507 11,897 -1,390 118,635 134,753 -16,118 Puerto Rico 1,087 1,002 85 12,891 15,353 -2,462 Rhode Island 678 758 -80 11,187 11,497 -310 South Carolina 1,730 1,733 -3 13,899 14,365 -466 South Dakota 133 171 -38 2,892 3,249 -357 Tennessee 2,426 2,367 59 16,006 17,699 -1,693 Texas 12,355 14,382 -2,027 112,406 117,994 -5,588 Utah 868 873 -5 9,358 10,130 -772 Vermont 389 499 -110 5,188 5,147 41 Virgin Islands 13 24 -11 598 426 172 Virginia 2,253 2,193 60 21,210 21,699 -489 Washington 5,778 5,405 373 57,856 59,676 -1,820 West Virginia 609 740 -131 14,042 12,568 1,474 Wisconsin 5,703 5,416 287 40,693 42,319 -1,626 Wyoming 278 344 -66 3,083 2,907 176 US Total 182,553 190,075 -7,522 1,898,456 2,009,468 -111,012

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 claims 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 estimates

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 March 24, 2018 217 -4 220.75 1,818 -33 1,838.75 1.3 March 31, 2018 231 14 222.75 1,852 34 1,838.50 1.3 April 7, 2018 227 -4 224.00 1,852 0 1,843.25 1.3 April 14, 2018 227 0 225.50 1,818 -34 1,835.00 1.3 April 21, 2018 210 -17 223.75 1,773 -45 1,823.75 1.3 April 28, 2018 213 3 219.25 1,787 14 1,807.50 1.3 May 5, 2018 211 -2 215.25 1,736 -51 1,778.50 1.2 May 12, 2018 221 10 213.75 1,746 10 1,760.50 1.2 May 19, 2018 227 6 218.00 1,741 -5 1,752.50 1.2 May 26, 2018 221 -6 220.00 1,748 7 1,742.75 1.2 June 2, 2018 220 -1 222.25 1,722 -26 1,739.25 1.2 June 9, 2018 219 -1 221.75 1,734 12 1,736.25 1.2 June 16, 2018 219 0 219.75 1,722 -12 1,731.50 1.2 June 23, 2018 223 4 220.25 1,745 23 1,730.75 1.2 June 30, 2018 229 6 222.50 1,745 0 1,736.50 1.2 July 7, 2018 212 -17 220.75 1,753 8 1,741.25 1.2 July 14, 2018 212 0 219.00 1,745 -8 1,747.00 1.2 July 21, 2018 217 5 217.50 1,733 -12 1,744.00 1.2 July 28, 2018 220 3 215.25 1,753 20 1,746.00 1.2 August 4, 2018 215 -5 216.00 1,734 -19 1,741.25 1.2 August 11, 2018 215 0 216.75 1,726 -8 1,736.50 1.2 August 18, 2018 214 -1 216.00 1,717 -9 1,732.50 1.2 August 25, 2018 215 1 214.75 1,713 -4 1,722.50 1.2 September 1, 2018 210 -5 213.50 1,706 -7 1,715.50 1.2 September 8, 2018 208 -2 211.75 1,665 -41 1,700.25 1.2 September 15, 2018 212 4 211.25 1,682 17 1,691.50 1.2 September 22, 2018 212 0 210.50 1,669 -13 1,680.50 1.2 September 29, 2018 218 6 212.50 1,668 -1 1,671.00 1.2 October 6, 2018 212 -6 213.50 1,660 -8 1,669.75 1.2 October 13, 2018 215 3 214.25 1,656 -4 1,663.25 1.2 October 20, 2018 218 3 215.75 1,649 -7 1,658.25 1.2 October 27, 2018 219 1 216.00 1,649 0 1,653.50 1.2 November 3, 2018 217 -2 217.25 1,678 29 1,658.00 1.2 November 10, 2018 223 6 219.25 1,673 -5 1,662.25 1.2 November 17, 2018 224 1 220.75 1,695 22 1,673.75 1.2 November 24, 2018 234 10 224.50 1,654 -41 1,675.00 1.2 December 1, 2018 229 -5 227.50 1,667 13 1,672.25 1.2 December 8, 2018 213 -16 225.00 1,700 33 1,679.00 1.2 December 15, 2018 220 7 224.00 1,699 -1 1,680.00 1.2 December 22, 2018 223 3 221.25 1,728 29 1,698.50 1.2 December 29, 2018 231 8 221.75 1,708 -20 1,708.75 1.2 January 5, 2019 221 -10 223.75 1,716 8 1,712.75 1.2 January 12, 2019 217 -4 223.00 1,707 -9 1,714.75 1.2 January 19, 2019 211 -6 220.00 1,739 32 1,717.50 1.2 January 26, 2019 244 33 223.25 1,720 -19 1,720.50 1.2 February 2, 2019 230 -14 225.50 1,746 26 1,728.00 1.2 February 9, 2019 231 1 229.00 1,719 -27 1,731.00 1.2 February 16, 2019 213 -18 229.50 1,773 54 1,739.50 1.2 February 23, 2019 224 11 224.50 1,749 -24 1,746.75 1.2 March 2, 2019 218 -6 221.50 1,757 8 1,749.50 1.2 March 9, 2019 224 6 219.75 1,744 -13 1,755.75 1.2 March 16, 2019 216 -8 220.50 1,755 11 1,751.25 1.2 March 23, 2019 212 -4 217.50 1,717 -38 1,743.25 1.2 March 30, 2019 202 -10 213.50

INITIAL CLAIMS FILED DURING WEEK ENDED MARCH 23 INSURED UNEMPLOYMENT FOR WEEK ENDED MARCH 16 CHANGE FROM CHANGE FROM ALL PROGRAMS EXCLUDING RAILROAD RETIREMENT STATE NAME STATE LAST WEEK YEAR AGO UCFE 1 UCX1 STATE (%) 2 LAST WEEK YEAR AGO UCFE 1 UCX1 Alabama 2220 71 50 12 6 14269 0.8 -103 -1133 65 68 14402 Alaska 850 -105 -174 4 1 9264 3.0 330 -1771 172 20 9456 Arizona 3402 14 -525 15 5 18987 0.7 -101 -2964 199 40 19226 Arkansas 2263 821 201 2 1 10415 0.9 -558 -1701 75 42 10532 California 39832 -1296 659 121 84 384846 2.3 12540 -14564 2626 1392 388864 Colorado 1550 44 -11 13 15 22886 0.9 1697 -919 287 213 23386 Connecticut 2508 -313 -664 6 4 41127 2.5 59 -6597 58 59 41244 Delaware 460 0 -46 2 5 5403 1.2 -332 -534 13 7 5423 District of Columbia 388 -42 140 18 0 7237 1.3 -22 -916 362 7 7606 Florida 5353 -448 -965 19 34 34930 0.4 179 -4221 171 83 35184 Georgia 4182 -205 -203 20 26 23918 0.6 -764 -2292 160 164 24242 Hawaii 1055 -100 -102 2 7 6529 1.0 -69 -565 80 77 6686 Idaho 1104 61 -105 12 5 8666 1.2 -1031 248 218 12 8896 Illinois 7933 -54 48 4 2 131314 2.2 5852 2200 392 165 131871 Indiana 2069 -19 -72 3 6 19668 0.7 -1014 80 31 26 19725 Iowa 2272 -76 472 3 3 29330 1.9 -1004 2621 40 32 29402 Kansas 1271 -377 -266 1 1 10886 0.8 -307 1 35 27 10948 Kentucky 1957 -148 4 2 3 20317 1.1 172 -1044 96 117 20530 Louisiana 1619 -42 -244 7 3 14074 0.7 -194 -1898 39 14 14127 Maine 561 -58 -152 0 0 8166 1.4 -327 -508 32 6 8204 Maryland 2923 330 -739 16 7 28913 1.1 -1704 -5043 226 95 29234 Massachusetts 4301 -53 -619 2 10 78594 2.2 -980 -6482 159 83 78836 Michigan 4887 -269 97 10 9 78958 1.8 2874 2603 247 80 79285 Minnesota 3313 84 124 2 1 57679 2.0 -855 -989 102 54 57835 Mississippi 930 -205 -72 1 0 7484 0.7 128 -954 80 12 7576 Missouri 3557 324 -42 4 5 23273 0.9 -2518 -2290 112 22 23407 Montana 729 -45 13 7 1 10768 2.4 -833 -174 416 19 11203 Nebraska 730 -58 0 1 1 6899 0.7 -172 138 23 6 6928 Nevada 2115 -173 -89 4 2 19152 1.4 -436 -1900 169 49 19370 New Hampshire 516 -2 38 0 0 4240 0.7 -244 -851 3 1 4244 New Jersey 7485 -368 240 7 13 104241 2.6 -3087 -3387 252 211 104704 New Mexico 837 160 -19 3 3 9540 1.2 -82 -418 258 37 9835 New York 12684 -231 -1106 24 23 152162 1.6 -4814 -12128 359 320 152841 North Carolina 2796 128 266 6 7 20023 0.5 1410 -1178 105 107 20235 North Dakota 211 -77 -90 0 0 5891 1.5 -270 -768 20 4 5915 Ohio 5981 -468 698 6 14 65235 1.2 -2151 -3503 104 135 65474 Oklahoma 1572 -1097 79 6 5 14217 0.9 690 635 50 58 14325 Oregon 3855 149 231 24 5 30185 1.6 -1804 944 554 63 30802 Pennsylvania 11897 -1181 -1580 48 28 134753 2.3 4652 -4419 524 219 135496 Puerto Rico 1002 -173 -116 2 6 15353 1.8 -455 -8716 137 37 15527 Rhode Island 758 -129 123 2 2 11497 2.5 -303 118 17 18 11532 South Carolina 1733 -344 -164 5 8 14365 0.7 -71 -1149 51 72 14488 South Dakota 171 28 13 0 1 3249 0.8 -63 161 41 4 3294 Tennessee 2367 119 234 8 10 17699 0.6 -454 -3091 81 54 17834 Texas 14382 2802 -341 108 84 117994 1.0 4538 -11034 769 1056 119819 Utah 873 -41 -161 7 3 10130 0.7 -628 -422 144 19 10293 Vermont 499 -142 49 1 0 5147 1.7 -72 -290 11 0 5158 Virgin Islands 24 4 -3 0 0 426 1.3 -120 -2168 10 0 436 Virginia 2193 -64 -182 4 11 21699 0.6 -405 -2009 200 169 22068 Washington 5405 -382 -181 13 6 59676 1.8 -3213 5125 511 455 60642 West Virginia 740 -100 -113 0 0 12568 1.9 -964 -706 48 18 12634 Wisconsin 5416 -583 13 8 3 42319 1.5 -1628 -159 86 16 42421 Wyoming 344 22 -4 7 1 2907 1.1 -22 -1536 59 4 2970 Totals 190075 -4307 -5358 602 480 2009468 1.4 947 -102517 11079 6068 2026615

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 U.S. total covered employment is BLS.

UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED MARCH 23, 2019
STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 State Change State Supplied Comment TX +2,802 Layoffs in the finance and insurance, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, and retail trade industries.
STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 State Change State Supplied Comment CA -1,296 No comment.PA -1,181 Fewer layoffs in the accommodations and food service, construction, manufacturing, andprofessional, scientific and technical service industries. OK -1,097 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 19-593-NAT Program Contacts: Kevin Stapleton: (202) 693-3009 Tony Sznoluch: (202) 693-3176 Media Contact: (202) 693-4676