In the week ending April 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 295,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 294,000. The 4-week moving average was 284,500, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 282,750. There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.7 percent for the week ending April 11, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 11 was 2,325,000, ... (full story)