Weekly Jobless Claims Fall More than Expected for Week Ending March 10

The Labor Department said seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 226,000 for the week ending March 10, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 1,000 from 231,000 to 230,000.

The 4-week moving average came in at a very low 221,500, a decrease of 750 from the previous week’s downwardly revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 250 from 222,500 to 222,250.

Claims taking procedures in Puerto Rico and in the Virgin Islands have still not returned to normal and extended benefits were payable in Alaska and the Virgin Islands during the week ending February 24.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.3% for the week ending March 3 and the advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 3 was 1,879,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up 5,000 from 1,870,000 to 1,875,000.

The 4-week moving average decreased by 17,250 from the previous week’s revised average to 1,890,750. The previous week’s average was revised up by 1,250 from 1,906,750 to 1,908,000.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 24 were in the Virgin Islands (9.2), Alaska (3.6), Connecticut (3.0), New Jersey (3.0), Montana (2.9), Puerto Rico (2.9), Rhode Island (2.9), Massachusetts (2.7), Pennsylvania (2.5), and Illinois (2.4).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 3 were in New York (+18,249), California (+11,646), Washington (+1,011), Texas (+873), and New Jersey (+804), while the largest decreases were in Massachusetts (-3,871), Rhode Island (-1,082), Kentucky (-690), Michigan (-637), and Kansas (-463).