Initial claims for unemployment insurance in Arkansas remained well above “normal” levels last week, but continue to edge lower. In the week ending May 2, there were 12,436 new claims filed, down from 17,671 (revised) the previous week. For the week ending April 25, the number of continuing claims (insured unemployment) rose by 7,124 to 116,461.

Based on continuing claims data and estimates of total covered employment through April 18, the Insured Unemployment Rate for Arkansas rose to 9.1%, up from 7.6% in the week ending April 11. Over the same period, the Insured Unemployment Rate for the U.S. increased from 10.9% to 12.4%.