There were 1,138 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, a decrease of 86 from the week before, as filings fell for the first time since mid-September. The September Vermont unemployment rate was 6.7 percent, down one-tenth from August. However, economists believe that it will rise to over 7 percent by the end of this year. The current US rate is 9.8 percent, up one-tenth from August. Altogether 10,111 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 130 from a week ago and 2,566 more than a year earlier. The Department also processed 4,794 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 48 more than a week ago. In addition, there were 1,220 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is an increase of 49 from the week before. 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