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Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims, week ending August 29, 2026
U.S. Department of Labor · 2026-09-03
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TRANSMISSION OF MATERIALS IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL
8:30 A.M. (Eastern) Thursday, September 3, 2026
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending August 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 206,000, an increase of
2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 203,000 to
204,000. The 4-week moving average was 207,250, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average. The
previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 205,500 to 205,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending August 22,
unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured
unemployment during the week ending August 22 was 1,779,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised
level. The previous week's level was revised down by 7,000 from 1,778,000 to 1,771,000. The 4-week moving average
was 1,781,750, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised
down by 1,750 from 1,788,500 to 1,786,750.
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UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 170,626 in the week ending
August 29, an increase of 30 (or 0.0 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of
1,226 (or -0.7 percent) from the previous week. There were 196,712 initial claims in the comparable week in 2025.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.1 percent during the week ending August 22, a decrease of 0.1
percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled
1,737,781, a decrease of 33,225 (or -1.9 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease
of 40,733 (or -2.3 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.2 percent and the volume was
1,892,212.
The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending August 15 was 1,794,843,
a decrease of 23,293 from the previous week. There were 1,966,150 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in
the comparable week in 2025.
No state was triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program during the week ending August 15.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 337 in the week ending August 22, a
decrease of 53 from the prior week. There were 413 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 28
from the preceding week.
There were 5,691 continued weeks claimed filed by former Federal civilian employees the week ending August 15, a
decrease of 351 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 4,814, an increase of 16
from the prior week.
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The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending August 15 were in New Jersey (2.6), Puerto Rico (2.6),
Rhode Island (2.2), Massachusetts (2.1), Minnesota (2.0), Oregon (2.0), Washington (1.9), California (1.8), Connecticut
(1.8), Nevada (1.7), New York (1.7), and Pennsylvania (1.7).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 22 were in Illinois (+631), New York (+514), Texas
(+258), Michigan (+229), and Massachusetts (+173), while the largest decreases were in California (-1,049), Kentucky
(-583), New Jersey (-519), Florida (-475), and Minnesota (-281).
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UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS
WEEK ENDING August 29 August 22 Change August 15 Prior Year1
Initial Claims (SA) 206,000 204,000 +2,000 207,000 236,000
Initial Claims (NSA) 170,626 170,596 +30 173,017 196,712
4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 207,250 205,750 +1,500 204,250 230,500
WEEK ENDING August 22 August 15 Change August 8 Prior Year1
Insured Unemployment (SA) 1,779,000 1,771,000 +8,000 1,796,000 1,937,000
Insured Unemployment (NSA) 1,737,781 1,771,006 -33,225 1,794,032 1,892,212
4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 1,781,750 1,786,750 -5,000 1,788,250 1,944,500
Insured Unemployment Rate (SA)2 1.2% 1.2% 0.0 1.2% 1.3%
Insured Unemployment Rate (NSA)2 1.1% 1.2% -0.1 1.2% 1.2%
INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)
WEEK ENDING August 22 August 15 Change Prior Year1
Federal Employees (UCFE) 337 390 -53 515
Newly Discharged Veterans (UCX) 413 385 +28 359
CONTINUED WEEKS CLAIMED FILED FOR UI BENEFITS IN ALL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)
WEEK ENDING August 15 August 8 Change Prior Year1
Regular State 1,766,626 1,789,706 -23,080 1,926,595
Federal Employees 5,691 6,042 -351 8,128
Newly Discharged Veterans 4,814 4,798 +16 4,718
Extended Benefits3 30 9 +21 40
State Additional Benefits4 2,931 2,912 +19 2,443
STC / Workshare 5 14,751 14,669 +82 24,226
TOTAL 1,794,843 1,818,136 -23,293 1,966,150
FOOTNOTES
SA - Seasonally Adjusted Data, NSA - Not Seasonally Adjusted Data Continued weeks claimed represent all weeks of benefits
claimed during the week being reported, and do not represent weeks claimed by unique individuals.
1. Prior year is comparable to most recent data.
2. Most recent week used covered employment of 153,732,307 as denominator.
3. Information on the EB program can be found here: EB Program information
4. Some states maintain additional benefit programs for those claimants who exhaust regular benefits, and when
applicable, extended benefits. Information on states that participate, and the extent of benefits paid, can be found
starting on page 4-5 of this link: Extensions and Special Programs PDF
5. Information on STC/Worksharing can be found starting on page 4-11 of the following link: Extensions and Special
Programs PDF
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Advance State Claims - Not Seasonally Adjusted
Initial Claims Filed During Week Ended August 29 Insured Unemployment For Week Ended August 22
STATE Advance Prior Wk Change Advance Prior Wk Change
Alabama 1,519 1,532 -13 6,683 7,769 -1,086
Alaska 431 395 36 2,935 3,100 -165
Arizona 2,205 2,566 -361 21,177 24,764 -3,587
Arkansas 1,389 1,164 225 4,959 5,401 -442
California 35,672 35,241 431 332,110 331,318 792
Colorado 2,757 2,794 -37 31,064 30,619 445
Connecticut 2,790 2,788 2 30,350 29,862 488
Delaware 419 427 -8 5,371 5,200 171
District of Columbia 571 594 -23 7,596 8,080 -484
Florida 5,294 5,205 89 29,592 34,416 -4,824
Georgia 3,603 3,953 -350 23,555 25,080 -1,525
Hawaii 1,373 891 482 6,586 5,221 1,365
Idaho 533 580 -47 4,022 4,487 -465
Illinois 6,779 7,133 -354 88,967 92,066 -3,099
Indiana 2,329 2,273 56 17,545 17,757 -212
Iowa 1,169 1,227 -58 7,065 7,638 -573
Kansas 798 847 -49 7,118 6,821 297
Kentucky 1,382 1,378 4 9,509 10,096 -587
Louisiana 1,202 1,344 -142 5,579 7,043 -1,464
Maine 346 393 -47 4,581 4,813 -232
Maryland 1,722 2,162 -440 25,226 25,313 -87
Massachusetts 3,974 4,286 -312 74,581 75,840 -1,259
Michigan 3,739 4,199 -460 43,264 48,918 -5,654
Minnesota 3,007 2,928 79 58,045 59,002 -957
Mississippi 785 905 -120 6,083 6,680 -597
Missouri 2,020 2,126 -106 17,091 18,919 -1,828
Montana 307 411 -104 3,855 4,084 -229
Nebraska 484 520 -36 4,387 4,882 -495
Nevada 2,673 2,605 68 26,603 26,242 361
New Hampshire 237 357 -120 3,667 4,349 -682
New Jersey 7,622 8,537 -915 111,647 111,681 -34
New Mexico 773 767 6 9,275 9,296 -21
New York 18,465 13,899 4,566 169,648 164,175 5,473
North Carolina 2,863 2,982 -119 17,372 18,838 -1,466
North Dakota 231 328 -97 2,178 1,920 258
Ohio 3,835 4,406 -571 36,747 38,170 -1,423
Oklahoma 1,091 1,077 14 9,776 10,228 -452
Oregon 4,107 3,870 237 39,316 38,545 771
Pennsylvania 7,877 8,476 -599 94,617 100,467 -5,850
Puerto Rico* 1,327 1,281 46 20,823 23,735 -2,912
Rhode Island 870 640 230 10,702 10,818 -116
South Carolina 1,755 1,935 -180 14,503 15,110 -607
South Dakota 153 156 -3 997 1,095 -98
Tennessee 2,322 2,384 -62 14,739 15,447 -708
Texas 14,994 15,298 -304 143,889 146,740 -2,851
Utah 1,148 1,254 -106 10,501 10,661 -160
Vermont 241 286 -45 2,528 2,537 -9
Virgin Islands 42 55 -13 424 334 90
Virginia 2,116 2,286 -170 21,835 20,379 1,456
Washington 4,368 4,536 -168 70,300 67,748 2,552
West Virginia 574 548 26 5,866 5,562 304
Wisconsin 2,163 2,143 20 19,490 20,342 -852
Wyoming 180 228 -48 1,442 1,398 44
US Total 170,626 170,596 30 1,737,781 1,771,006 -33,225
Note: Advance claims are not directly comparable to claims reported in prior weeks. Advance claims are reported by the
state liable for paying the unemployment compensation, whereas previous weeks reported claims reflect claimants by
state of residence. In addition, claims reported as "workshare equivalent" in the previous week are added to the advance
claims as a proxy for the current week's "workshare equivalent" activity.
*Denotes OUI estimate.
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Seasonally Adjusted US Weekly UI Claims (in thousands)
Change Change
from from
Initial Prior 4-Week Insured Prior 4-Week
Week Ending Claims Week Average Unemployment Week Average IUR
August 23, 2025 229 -4 228.00 1,937 -5 1,944.50 1.3
August 30, 2025 236 7 230.50 1,927 -10 1,940.75 1.3
September 6, 2025 259 23 239.25 1,925 -2 1,932.75 1.3
September 13, 2025 233 -26 239.25 1,916 -9 1,926.25 1.3
September 20, 2025 219 -14 236.75 1,921 5 1,922.25 1.3
September 27, 2025 225 6 234.00 1,929 8 1,922.75 1.3
October 4, 2025 233 8 227.50 1,928 -1 1,923.50 1.3
October 11, 2025 222 -11 224.75 1,947 19 1,931.25 1.3
October 18, 2025 231 9 227.75 1,953 6 1,939.25 1.3
October 25, 2025 221 -10 226.75 1,962 9 1,947.50 1.3
November 1, 2025 228 7 225.50 1,946 -16 1,952.00 1.3
November 8, 2025 228 0 227.00 1,949 3 1,952.50 1.3
November 15, 2025 222 -6 224.75 1,943 -6 1,950.00 1.3
November 22, 2025 218 -4 224.00 1,932 -11 1,942.50 1.3
November 29, 2025 216 -2 221.00 1,894 -38 1,929.50 1.2
December 6, 2025 235 19 222.75 1,887 -7 1,914.00 1.2
December 13, 2025 224 -11 223.25 1,910 23 1,905.75 1.2
December 20, 2025 215 -9 222.50 1,860 -50 1,887.75 1.2
December 27, 2025 203 -12 219.25 1,900 40 1,889.25 1.2
January 3, 2026 207 4 212.25 1,875 -25 1,886.25 1.2
January 10, 2026 201 -6 206.50 1,865 -10 1,875.00 1.2
January 17, 2026 210 9 205.25 1,823 -42 1,865.75 1.2
January 24, 2026 211 1 207.25 1,842 19 1,851.25 1.2
January 31, 2026 230 19 213.00 1,859 17 1,847.25 1.2
February 7, 2026 230 0 220.25 1,865 6 1,847.25 1.2
February 14, 2026 208 -22 219.75 1,827 -38 1,848.25 1.2
February 21, 2026 211 3 219.75 1,871 44 1,855.50 1.2
February 28, 2026 214 3 215.75 1,847 -24 1,852.50 1.2
March 7, 2026 213 -1 211.50 1,851 4 1,849.00 1.2
March 14, 2026 205 -8 210.75 1,816 -35 1,846.25 1.2
March 21, 2026 211 6 210.75 1,832 16 1,836.50 1.2
March 28, 2026 203 -8 208.00 1,787 -45 1,821.50 1.2
April 4, 2026 218 15 209.25 1,809 22 1,811.00 1.2
April 11, 2026 208 -10 210.00 1,808 -1 1,809.00 1.2
April 18, 2026 215 7 211.00 1,776 -32 1,795.00 1.2
April 25, 2026 190 -25 207.75 1,758 -18 1,787.75 1.1
May 2, 2026 199 9 203.00 1,776 18 1,779.50 1.2
May 9, 2026 212 13 204.00 1,771 -5 1,770.25 1.2
May 16, 2026 210 -2 202.75 1,785 14 1,772.50 1.2
May 23, 2026 212 2 208.25 1,771 -14 1,775.75 1.2
May 30, 2026 225 13 214.75 1,786 15 1,778.25 1.2
June 6, 2026 230 5 219.25 1,800 14 1,785.50 1.2
June 13, 2026 227 -3 223.50 1,812 12 1,792.25 1.2
June 20, 2026 216 -11 224.50 1,806 -6 1,801.00 1.2
June 27, 2026 217 1 222.50 1,821 15 1,809.75 1.2
July 4, 2026 217 0 219.25 1,798 -23 1,809.25 1.2
July 11, 2026 209 -8 214.75 1,789 -9 1,803.50 1.2
July 18, 2026 189 -20 208.00 1,777 -12 1,796.25 1.2
July 25, 2026 198 9 203.25 1,799 22 1,790.75 1.2
August 1, 2026 200 2 199.00 1,781 -18 1,786.50 1.2
August 8, 2026 212 12 199.75 1,796 15 1,788.25 1.2
August 15, 2026 207 -5 204.25 1,771 -25 1,786.75 1.2
August 22, 2026 204 -3 205.75 1,779 8 1,781.75 1.2
August 29, 2026 206 2 207.25
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INITIAL CLAIMS FILED DURING WEEK ENDED INSURED UNEMPLOYMENT FOR WEEK ENDED
AUGUST 22 AUGUST 15
CHANGE FROM CHANGE FROM TOTAL
LAST YEAR LAST YEAR INSURED
STATE NAME STATE WEEK AGO UCFE 1 UCX 1 STATE (%) 2 WEEK AGO UCFE 1 UCX 1 UNEMPLOYMENT
Alabama 1,532 44 -403 1 1 7,769 0.4 -205 -1,693 28 12 7,809
Alaska 395 12 -29 0 0 3,100 1.0 -110 -289 19 3 3,122
Arizona 2,566 -146 -743 9 5 24,764 0.8 -610 -9,466 52 31 24,847
Arkansas 1,164 41 42 1 1 5,401 0.4 -137 -2,106 5 1 5,407
California 35,241 -1,049 -2,593 70 84 331,318 1.8 -8,799 -34,838 736 1,160 333,214
Colorado 2,794 104 107 4 9 30,619 1.1 -389 94 115 238 30,972
Connecticut 2,788 -219 -516 0 0 29,862 1.8 383 -2,057 56 24 29,942
Delaware 427 -97 184 2 1 5,200 1.1 -34 -652 0 0 5,200
District of Columbia 594 -48 -49 21 1 8,080 1.4 161 -3,314 457 2 8,539
Florida 5,205 -475 -972 13 25 34,416 0.4 -499 -2,648 99 73 34,588
Georgia 3,953 -12 -663 20 18 25,080 0.5 365 -3,067 146 95 25,321
Hawaii 891 -29 -65 1 1 5,221 0.9 -519 -605 43 48 5,312
Idaho 580 34 -216 1 1 4,487 0.5 -226 -659 13 13 4,513
Illinois 7,133 631 -2,778 7 2 92,066 1.5 -386 -9,708 309 116 92,491
Indiana 2,273 60 -380 2 2 17,757 0.6 -196 -2,336 16 14 17,787
Iowa 1,227 76 -163 2 3 7,638 0.5 -893 -2,657 13 5 7,656
Kansas 847 -74 -198 0 0 6,821 0.5 -1,349 -809 18 20 6,859
Kentucky 1,378 -583 -3,109 1 0 10,096 0.5 200 -672 40 32 10,168
Louisiana 1,344 27 -291 1 5 7,043 0.4 -479 -2,973 27 9 7,079
Maine 393 -29 -35 1 0 4,813 0.8 -20 -535 10 8 4,831
Maryland 2,162 67 260 29 3 25,313 1.0 -566 -5,133 340 62 25,715
Massachusetts 4,286 173 -23 3 4 75,840 2.1 192 -3,925 157 110 76,107
Michigan 4,199 229 -874 2 2 48,918 1.1 1,093 -2,511 93 51 49,062
Minnesota 2,928 -281 -246 6 2 59,002 2.0 -974 -2,098 54 43 59,099
Mississippi 905 -26 -20 1 0 6,680 0.6 -357 -698 40 7 6,727
Missouri 2,126 -111 -392 1 0 18,919 0.7 -819 -635 71 20 19,010
Montana 411 44 -7 2 1 4,084 0.8 -97 -92 29 6 4,119
Nebraska 520 54 -59 1 2 4,882 0.5 -497 -127 13 4 4,899
Nevada 2,605 -30 -160 0 0 26,242 1.7 315 -104 42 79 26,363
New Hampshire 357 -37 -73 1 1 4,349 0.6 -13 -329 3 1 4,353
New Jersey 8,537 -519 -500 14 20 111,681 2.6 1,569 -4,434 219 221 112,121
New Mexico 767 -22 15 1 2 9,296 1.1 -166 -855 63 23 9,382
New York 13,899 514 -891 15 20 164,175 1.7 -1,453 -494 358 231 164,764
North Carolina 2,982 38 -172 0 1 18,838 0.4 -482 -3,160 57 94 18,989
North Dakota 328 150 106 1 2 1,920 0.5 -145 -231 81 2 2,003
Ohio 4,406 -109 -601 6 9 38,170 0.7 -1,481 -8,203 69 64 38,303
Oklahoma 1,077 -25 -291 4 4 10,228 0.6 -644 -995 35 35 10,298
Oregon 3,870 -157 82 1 2 38,545 2.0 -727 1,724 114 50 38,709
Pennsylvania 8,476 19 -725 17 11 100,467 1.7 -1,364 -12,106 319 95 100,881
Puerto Rico* 1,281 0 68 6 2 23,735 2.6 0 2,577 192 43 23,970
Rhode Island 640 21 -94 1 1 10,818 2.2 72 -1,720 37 14 10,869
South Carolina 1,935 -213 15 8 8 15,110 0.7 -1,049 -411 53 56 15,219
South Dakota 156 31 17 2 0 1,095 0.2 -83 -84 25 0 1,120
Tennessee 2,384 -208 -435 5 5 15,447 0.5 -876 -1,268 50 38 15,535
Texas 15,298 258 -1,708 33 115 146,740 1.1 1,720 -25,619 487 994 148,221
Utah 1,254 -83 -170 6 3 10,661 0.6 -164 -1,333 57 20 10,738
Vermont 286 -24 25 0 0 2,537 0.8 0 -48 9 2 2,548
Virgin Islands 55 16 -13 0 0 334 1.0 -74 88 4 0 338
Virginia 2,286 -105 -3 7 9 20,379 0.5 -169 -1,180 173 109 20,661
Washington 4,536 -153 -299 4 20 67,748 1.9 -866 -5,493 184 405 68,337
West Virginia 548 -28 -103 0 3 5,562 0.8 -460 -896 23 5 5,590
Wisconsin 2,143 -205 -455 3 2 20,342 0.7 -628 -2,366 35 24 20,401
Wyoming 228 33 -16 0 0 1,398 0.5 -91 -212 3 2 1,403
Totals 170,596 -2,421 -20,612 337 413 1,771,006 1.2 -23,026 -163,361 5,691 4,814 1,781,511
Figures appearing in columns showing over-the-week changes reflect all revisions in data for prior week submitted by
state agencies.
1. The Unemployment Compensation program for Federal Employees (UCFE) and the Unemployment
Compensation for Ex-servicemembers (UCX) exclude claims filed jointly under other programs to avoid
duplication.
2. Rate is not seasonally adjusted. The source of U.S. total covered employment is BLS.
*Reflects week ending August 8, 2026.
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UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED AUGUST 22, 2026
STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000
State Change State Supplied Comment
None
STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000
State Change State Supplied Comment
CA -1,049 No comment.
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TECHNICAL NOTES
This news release presents the weekly unemployment insurance (UI) claims reported by each state's unemployment
insurance program offices. These claims may be used for monitoring workload volume, assessing state program
operations and for assessing labor market conditions. States initially report claims directly taken by the state liable for the
benefit payments, regardless of where the claimant who filed the claim resided. These are the basis for the advance initial
claims and continued claims reported each week. These data come from ETA 538, Advance Weekly Initial and
Continued Claims Report. The following week initial claims and continued claims are revised based on a second
reporting by states that reflect the claimants by state of residence. These data come from the ETA 539, Weekly Claims
and Extended Benefits Trigger Data Report.
A. Initial Claims
An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The claimant requests
a determination of basic eligibility for the UI program. When an initial claim is filed with a state, certain programmatic
activities take place and these result in activity counts including the count of initial claims. The count of U.S. initial
claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market
conditions in the country. However, these are weekly administrative data which are difficult to seasonally adjust, making
the series subject to some volatility.
B. Continued Weeks Claimed
A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment then files a continued
claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. On a weekly basis, continued claims are also referred to as
insured unemployment, as continued claims reflect a good approximation of the current number of insured unemployed
workers filing for UI benefits. The count of U.S. continued weeks claimed is also a good indicator of labor market
conditions. While continued claims are not a leading indicator (they roughly coincide with economic cycles at their peaks
and lag at cycle troughs), they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the U.S. economy.
C. Seasonal Adjustments and Annual Revisions
Over the course of a year, the weekly changes in the levels of initial claims and continued claims undergo regularly
occurring fluctuations. These fluctuations may result from seasonal changes in weather, major holidays, the opening and
closing of schools, or other similar events. Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year,
their influence on the level of a series can be tempered by adjusting for regular seasonal variation. These adjustments
make trend and cycle developments easier to spot. At the beginning of each calendar year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
provides the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) with a set of seasonal factors to apply to the unadjusted
data during that year. Concurrent with the implementation and release of the new seasonal factors, ETA incorporates
revisions to the UI claims historical series caused by updates to the unadjusted data. For further questions on the seasonal
adjustment methodology, please see the official release page for the UI claims seasonal adjustment factors or contact
BLS directly through the Local Area Unemployment Statistics web contact form.
Weekly Claims Archives
Weekly Claims Data
U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The Department's Reasonable Accommodation
Resource Center converts Departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large
print. For alternative format requests, please contact the Department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal
relay).
U.S. Department of Labor
Program Contacts:
Employment and Training Administration
Lawrence S. Essien: (202) 693-3087
Washington, D.C. 20210
Media Contact: (202) 693-4676
Release Number: USDL 26-1453-NAT
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