Unemployment Insurance Claims Data

The Unemployment Insurance (UI) monthly claims data are used in current economic analysis of unemployment trends in the Nation and in each State.

Initial claims measure emerging unemployment and weeks paid measure the duration and severity of unemployment.

The Data:

  • UI Claims Data are available from the US Department of Labor Web site. Weekly data are available from 1987 to present (not seasonally adjusted) and monthly from 1971 to present (not seasonally adjusted). Data do not include special UI programs.
  • Unemployment Rates and Labor Force for California and Los Angeles are available from 1976 to present (seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted) and all other areas from 1990 to present (not seasonally adjusted).
  • Click here to download seasonally adjusted data for California UI claims, 1978 to present.
Data and charts last updated: May 17, 2013

Graphical Display of California Change in UI Claims

April 2013
In April 2013, 225,171 initial unemployment insurance claims were filed and 1,941,687 total weeks were paid in California. Adjusting for seasonality, 217,326 initial claims were filed and 1,762,766 weeks were paid.

Month over Changes
Initial claims decreased by 17,213 (7.3%) from March, seasonally adjusted. Weeks paid increased by 118,986 (6.3%) from March, seasonally adjusted.

Year over Changes
Initial claims decreased by 27,528 (10.9%) from April 2012. Weeks paid decreased by 168,200 (8.0%) from April 2012. Note: Year over changes are measured using not seasonally adjusted data since comparing the same month the previous year is not subject to seasonal patterns.

Analysis
Seasonally adjusted initial claims decreased for three consecutive months following two months of increases, and are still 119,735 below the peak of 337,061 in May 2010. In April, the number of weeks paid were below year-ago levels in 36 out of the last 38 months, while year-over initial claims were below in 32 of the last 38 months. Unemployment insurance claims continue to fall slowly as recovery from the Great Recession slowly takes hold in California.


California UI Monthly Initial Claims and Weeks Paid Charts:

The following charts are updated monthly using the most recent data available from the above sources.
Graphical Display illustrates a comparison of initial and continued unemployment insurance claims from January 1989

This chart illustrates a comparison of initial unemployment insurance claims and number of weeks paid from January 1978. For the purpose of this chart, data have been seasonally adjusted by the Labor Market Information Division (using the x12 software provided by the Census Bureau) and a Henderson-13 trend filter is used to smooth data.
Graphical Display illustrates a comparison of initial unemployment insurance claims, continued unemployment insurance claims and the number of unemployed persons.

This chart illustrates a comparison of initial unemployment insurance claims, number of weeks paid, and the number of unemployed persons. For the purpose of this chart, both initial unemployment insurance claims and weeks paid have been seasonally adjusted by the Labor Market Information Division (using the x12 software provided by the Census Bureau) and a Henderson-13 trend filter has been used to smooth data. Unemployed persons is measured monthly and seasonally adjusted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as part of the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program.

Contact Information:

For questions regarding not seasonally adjusted unemployment insurance claims, contact Unemployment Insurance Policy and Coordination Division, (916) 654-7401.

For all other questions, including seasonal adjustment of data, contact Employment Development Department, Labor Market Information Division, (916) 262-2162.

Notes:
1) Seasonal factors have been updated for the entire series beginning with the
January 2012 data release.