<H3>• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims — 21 FEB 2015 </H3>

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In the week ending February 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 313,000, an increase of 31,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 from 283,000 to 282,000. The 4-week moving average was 294,500, an increase of 11,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 250 from 283,250 to 283,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.8 percent for the week ending February 14, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 14 was 2,401,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week's revised level. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 7 were in Alaska (4.6), New Jersey (3.7), Connecticut (3.4), Rhode Island (3.4), Massachusetts (3.2), Montana (3.2), Pennsylvania (3.2), Puerto Rico (3.0), California (2.9), Illinois (2.9), and Wisconsin (2.9). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 14 were in Missouri (+1,026), Oklahoma (+674), Arkansas (+61), and the Washington (+50), while the largest decreases were in California (-14,135), Pennsylvania (- 4,151), New York (-3,792), Illinois (-2,953), and Texas (-2,419). Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS NOTE: This report is provided with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in providing legal, financial, accounting or other professional advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Furthermore, while we do our best to ensure that these data are accurate, we suggest that any entity making decisions based on these numbers should verify the data at their source prior to making such decisions. © 2015 Connecticut Human Resource Reports, LLC URL: http://connecticuthumanresources.blogspot.com/

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