U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Fall for Second Straight Week, Sign Job Market Is Tightening

In the week ending February 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 215,000, a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 232,000 to 233,000. The 4-week moving average was 230,500, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 236,250 to 236,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.1 percent for the week ending February 19, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 19 was 1,476,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 2,000 from 1,476,000 to 1,474,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,539,500, a decrease of 36,250 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since April 4, 1970 when it was 1,516,000. The previous week’s average was revised down by 250 from 1,576,000 to 1,575,750.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 194,693 in the week ending February 26, a decrease of 21,285 (or -9.9 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 2,985 (or -1.4 percent) from the previous week. There were 756,629 initial claims in the comparable week in 2021.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3 percent during the week ending February 19, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,858,860, a decrease of 51,966 (or -2.7 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 53,662 (or -2.8 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 3.4 percent and the volume was 4,848,404.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending February 12 was 1,971,279, a decrease of 62,625 from the previous week. There were 18,593,212 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2021.

During the week ending February 12, Extended Benefits were available in the following 2 states: New Jersey, and New Mexico.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 526 in the week ending February 19, a decrease of 1,089 from the prior week. There were 338 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 34 from the preceding week.