Jobless Claims Rise to 211,000, Highest Since November 2021

On Thursday, the US Labor Department released its weekly jobless claims report, which showed that initial unemployment claims rose to 211,000 last week, from 190,000 the week before.[0] This was higher than the expected uptick to 195,000, and is the highest number since November 2021.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending February 25, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 25 was 1,718,000, an increase of 69,000 from the previous week's revised level.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.4% during the week ending February 25, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. Continuing jobless claims, representing the number of people already receiving benefits, were at 1.72 million during the week ending February 25, rising by 69,000 from the previous week's revised level.[1]

The four-week average increased by 4,000 from 193,000 to 197,000, a figure that was not revised.[2] In the week ending March 4, the unadjusted number of initial claims filed through state programs was 237,513.[0]

Overall, the US jobless claims report showed that the number of Americans submitting new claims for unemployment benefits grew last week, which may be a sign that the recent spate of major corporate layoffs are starting to cool off the US labor market.[1]

0. “New Unemployment Claims Grow As Tech Layoffs Escalate, Fed Tries To Cool Economy – Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG)” Benzinga, 9 Mar. 2023, https://www.benzinga.com/government/23/03/31275870/new-unemployment-claims-grow-as-tech-layoffs-escalate-fed-tries-to-cool-economy

1. “Jobless claims jump to 211000 and hit highest level since Christmas. Blame New York” Morningstar, 9 Mar. 2023, https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/20230309450/jobless-claims-jump-to-211000-and-hit-highest-level-since-christmas-blame-new-york

2. “Jobless claims rise more than expected in past week” Seeking Alpha, 9 Mar. 2023, https://seekingalpha.com/news/3945927-jobless-claims-rise-more-than-expected-in-past-week

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 0 comments