Weekly Jobless Claims Graphic. Number of Americans applying for first-time jobless benefits.
The Labor Department said on Thursday that weekly jobless claims fell by 7,000 to 262,000 last week, lower than the estimate for 275,000. The prior week was unchanged at 269,000.
A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims.
The four-week moving average of claims–which is widely considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility–fell 8,000 to 273,250 last week.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending January 30 were in Alaska (4.7), West Virginia (3.7), New Jersey (3.4), Montana (3.3), Pennsylvania (3.3), Connecticut (3.0), Wyoming (3.0), Illinois (2.9), Puerto Rico (2.9), and Rhode Island (2.9).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 6 were in Texas (+1,674), Rhode Island (+783), Florida (+419), Michigan (+385), and Virginia (+370), while the largest decreases were in Illinois (-5,503), Tennessee (- 3,067), Pennsylvania (-2,284), Maryland (-1,911), and Ohio (-1,695).
