Weekly Unemployment Claims Jump More Than Expected

The Labor Department said on Thursday that weekly unemployment claims rose by 11,000 to 276,000 last week,  higher than the estimate for 265,000. The prior week was unchanged at 265,000.

A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims and no state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending March 12.

The 4-week moving average–which is widely considered to be a better gauge, as it irons-out weekly volatility–was 263,250, an increase of 3,500 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 259,750. Still, the report marks 56 consecutive weeks first-time weekly jobless claims were below 300,000, the longest streak since 1973.

There were 11,691 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 12, a decrease of 1,258 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 14,243, a decrease of 373 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 12 were in Alaska (4.4), New Jersey (3.1), Wyoming (3.1), Pennsylvania (3.0), West Virginia (3.0), Connecticut (2.9), Montana (2.8), Rhode Island (2.8), Illinois (2.7), and Massachusetts (2.7).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 19 were in Missouri (+585), Florida (+342), Illinois (+334), Colorado (+332), and South Carolina (+304), while the largest decreases were in California (-2,350), Pennsylvania (-1,407), New York (-1,041), Washington (-695), and Nebraska (-657).