• U.S. Initial Unemployment [Jobless] Claims Down 7k

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In the week ending March 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 340,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 347,000 and down 9.1% from the same week a year ago. The 4-week moving average was 348,750, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised average of 355,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending February 23, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 16 were in Alaska (6.0), Montana (4.3), Puerto Rico (4.3), New Jersey (4.1), Pennsylvania (4.1), Rhode Island (4.1), Wisconsin (3.9), Idaho (3.7), Massachusetts (3.7), Connecticut (3.6), Illinois (3.6), and Oregon (3.6). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 23 were in Massachusetts (+4,024), North Carolina (+1,995), Illinois (+1,782), Rhode Island (+988), and Connecticut (+733), while the largest decreases were in California (-40,352), New York (-2,070), Texas (-1,334), Florida (-878), and Pennsylvania (-781). Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS

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