New U.S. jobless claims rose 11,000 for the week ending March 31, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labour. The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 321,000 compared to the previous week’s revised figure of 310,000. The four-week moving average was 315,750, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 317,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9% for the week ending March 24, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 1.9 %.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 24 was 2,492,000, a decrease of 25,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 2,517,000. The four-week moving average was 2,521,250, a decrease of 7,500 from the preceding week’s revised average of 2,528,750.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 266,229 in the week ending March 31, a decrease of 7,364 from the previous week. There were 253,985 initial claims in the comparable week in 2006.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1% during the week ending March 24, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totalled 2,731,527, a decrease of 94,946 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.1% and the volume was 2,680,141.

Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending March 17.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former federal civilian employees totaled 902 in the week ending March 24, an increase of 54 from the prior week. There were 1,696 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 91 from the preceding week.

There were 16,325 former federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 17, an increase of 1,902 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 22,935, a decrease of 777 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 17 were in Alaska (5.2%), Michigan (4.3%), Pennsylvania (3.7%), Rhode Island (3.6%), Wisconsin (3.6%), Puerto Rico (3.4%), New Jersey (3.3%), Massachusetts (3.2%), Vermont (3.1%), Connecticut (2.9%), and Minnesota (2.9%).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 24 were in Michigan (+2,836), California (+1,854), Oklahoma (+1,234), Indiana (+1,215), and Illinois (+963), while the largest decreases were in Mississippi (-4,335), Ohio (-3,784), Pennsylvania (-1,355), Alabama (-1,108), and Wisconsin (-1,037).