U.S. Labor Department statistics released Thursday show that while Puerto Rico leads the way among all stateside jurisdictions in the number of unemployment insurance claims, the number dropped in the last three months.
In a press release issued Thursday, the agency noted that Puerto Rico is ranked first with 6.1 percent among states and jurisdictions with the highest insured unemployment rates for the week ending Oct. 31.
October’s figure is several percentage points below the 7.3 percent reported for the week ending Aug. 15.
Puerto Rico edged out Oregon with 5.5 percent, Nevada, with 5.2 percent, Alaska, with 5 percent, California, with 5 percent, Arkansas and Wisconsin, both with 4.9 percent, Michigan and Pennsylvania, both with 4.8 percent and Washington, with 4.7 percent.
The Labor Department said first-time claims for jobless benefits amounted to a seasonally adjusted 505,000 last week. That was the same as the previous week’s revised figure, and it matched analysts’ expectations. A year ago, there were 533,000 initial claims.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate in the U.S. mainland was 4.3 percent for the week ending Nov. 7, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 4.3 percent.
Some economists said the report was an encouraging sign that job losses in November will decrease from last month’s total. Employers cut a net total of 190,000 jobs in October, down from 219,000 the previous month.
On Wednesday, nonprofit organization National Employment Law Project predicted that more than 1 million people will run out of unemployment benefits in January unless Congress quickly extends federal emergency aid.
States typically provide 26 weeks of unemployment insurance for those who lose their jobs through no fault of their own, with weekly checks averaging about $300. Congress on Nov. 6 extended coverage for the fourth time since the recession began, granting 14 to 20 more weeks to try to keep about 1.3 million people who have been jobless for well over a year from running out of benefits before the end of 2009.
___________________________________
The Associated Press contributed to this report