SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending March 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 340,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 347,000. The 4-week moving average was 348,750, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised average of 355,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending February 23, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 23 was 3,094,000, an increase of 3,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,091,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,121,750, a decrease of 37,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,159,250.
UNADJUSTED DATAThe advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 333,389 in the week ending March 2, an increase of 23,198 from the previous week. There were 368,433 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.8 percent during the week ending February 23, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,589,315, an increase of 52,854 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,536,461. A year earlier, the rate was 3.2 percent and the volume was 3,988,890. The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending February 16 was 5,401,893, a decrease of 362,275 from the previous week. There were 7,387,649 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012. Extended Benefits were available only in Alaska during the week ending February 16. Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,138 in the week ending February 23, a decrease of 214 from the prior week. There were 2,188 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 115 from the preceding week. There were 20,902 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending February 16, a decrease of 1,780 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 38,482, a decrease of 984 from the prior week. States reported 1,780,626 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending February 16, a decrease of 225,365 from the prior week. There were 2,929,210 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2012. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 16 were in Alaska (6.0), Montana (4.3), Puerto Rico (4.3), New Jersey (4.1), Pennsylvania (4.1), Rhode Island (4.1), Wisconsin (3.9), Idaho (3.7), Massachusetts (3.7), Connecticut (3.6), Illinois (3.6), and Oregon (3.6).The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 23 were in Massachusetts (+4,024), North Carolina (+1,995), Illinois (+1,782), Rhode Island (+988), and Connecticut (+733), while the largest decreases were in California (-40,352), New York (-2,070), Texas (-1,334), Florida (-878), and Pennsylvania (-781).
