Jobless Claims Fall 3k for Week Ending February 29

The U.S. Labor Department (DOL) reported initial jobless claims came in at a seasonally adjusted 213,000 for the week ending February 29, slightly missing the consensus forecast. That’s still a decline of 3,000 from the previous week’s unrevised 216,000.

Forecasts ranged from a low of 212,000 to a high of 226,000. The consensus forecast was 215,000.

The 4-week moving average was only 213,000, an increase of 3,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 209,750.

Lagging Jobless Claims Data

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at a very low 1.2% for the week ending February 22.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 8 was 1,729,000, an increase of 7,000. The previous week’s level was revised down by 2,000 from 1,724,000 to 1,722,000.

No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending February 15.

State Jobless Claims Data

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 15 were in Alaska (2.9), New Jersey (2.7), West Virginia (2.6), Connecticut (2.5), Montana (2.5), Pennsylvania (2.5), Puerto Rico (2.4), Rhode Island (2.4), Illinois (2.2), Massachusetts (2.2), and Minnesota (2.2).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 22 were in Massachusetts (+3,871), Illinois (+3,767), Rhode Island (+925), Indiana (+423), and Iowa (+392), while the largest decreases were in California (-8,466), Georgia (-1,247), Pennsylvania (-952), Oregon (-770), and Texas (-743).