seasonally adjusted initial claims was 344,000 (prior 345 revised to 347)

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending May 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 344,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 347,000. The 4-week moving average was 335,500, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 334,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending May 15, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.3 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 15 was 2,948,000, an increase of 19,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,929,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,937,750, a decrease of 14,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,951,750.


UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 293,457 in the week ending May 22, a decrease of 3,387 from the previous week. There were 359,500 initial claims in the comparable week in 2003.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent during the week ending May 15, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,744,888, a decrease of 22,961 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.7 percent and the volume was 3,400,384.