<H3>• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims – 08 March 2014 </H3>

---

In the week ending March 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 315,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 324,000. The 4-week moving average was 330,500, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week's revised average of 336,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending March 1, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 22 were in Alaska (5.9), Rhode Island (4.4), New Jersey (4.3), Connecticut (4.1), Pennsylvania (3.8), California (3.7), Illinois (3.7), Massachusetts (3.6), Montana (3.6), and Wisconsin (3.5). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 1 were in New York (+18,709), Florida (1,940), Illinois (+1,789), Texas (+1,245), and New Hampshire (+849), while the largest decreases were in California (-5,765), Georgia (-5,437), Massachusetts (-3,770), Pennsylvania (-2,086), and South Carolina (-2,006). Click on chart to enlarge Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS

---