Weekly Jobless Claims Fall Dramatically Ahead of Monthly Employment Report

The Labor Department said Thursday weekly jobless claims fell 25,000 to 234,000 from the previous week’s revised level, easily beating the median forecast. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 258,000 to 259,000.

The last look at the labor market before Friday’s monthly jobs report conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for the DOL is very positive.

The 4-week moving average–which is widely considered a better gauge–came in at 250,000, a decline of 4,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 254,250 to 254,500. Lagging continuing claims are down 24,000 in the March 25 week to 2.028 million, with this 4-week average at a new 17-year low of 2.023 million.

The Labor Department said no special factors influenced the data and no state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending March 18.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 18 were in Alaska (3.9), Connecticut (3.0), New Jersey (3.0), Puerto Rico (2.7), Rhode Island (2.7), California (2.6), Massachusetts (2.6), Montana (2.5), Pennsylvania (2.5), and Illinois (2.4).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 25 were in New York (+6,249), Texas (+2,606), Michigan (+2,221), Pennsylvania (+2,216), and California (+1,603), while the largest decreases were in Ohio (-4,302), Kansas (-2,460), Missouri (-1,860), Illinois (-1,157), and Kentucky (-1,014).