<H3>• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims – 22 February 2014 </H3>

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In the week ending February 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 348,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 334,000. The 4-week moving average was 338,250, unchanged from the previous week's revised average. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending February 15, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 8 were in Alaska (6.1), New Jersey (4.2), Rhode Island (4.2), Pennsylvania (3.9), Connecticut (3.8), Illinois (3.8), Montana (3.8), California (3.7), Wisconsin (3.7), and West Virginia (3.6). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 15 were in California (+5,832), Michigan (+2,129), Oregon (+1,574), Missouri (+1,045), and Nevada (+196), while the largest decreases were in Georgia (-7,759), Pennsylvania (-3,677), Wisconsin (-3,227), Illinois (-2,780), and North Carolina (-2,644). Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS

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