Weekly unemployment claims fell back after a two-week spike as labor fell into its summer mode. For the week there were 681 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is a decrease of 425 claims from the week before but 17 more than last year's total.
Altogether 6,617 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 173 from a week ago and 1,061 fewer than a year ago. The Department also processed 1,387 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 22 more than a week ago. In addition, there were 606 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is 9 fewer than the week before. The Tier II program of extended benefits is being discontinued in Vermont as the state's unemployment rate has been under the federal threshold for three months.
The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at:http://www.vtlmi.info/. Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at:http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc
Vermont's unemployment rate remained at 4.6 percent in May. This is the lowest rate in New England and fourth lowest in the US.SEE STORY