US / Unemployment claims rise in latest week

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits jumped 20,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 362,000, though it remained at a level consistent with modest hiring.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 8,000 to 360,750, the highest in six weeks. A department spokesman said heavy snowstorms in the Northeast didn’t affect the total.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have trended downward recently. The four-week average has declined 7.5% since mid-November and fell to a five-year low three weeks ago.

Still, the increase puts applications back in the 360,000-to-390,000 range, where they have fluctuated since early last year.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via Unemployment claims rise in latest week.

The DOL report

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending February 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 362,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 342,000. The 4-week moving average was 360,750, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 352,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending February 9, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 9 was 3,148,000, an increase of 11,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,137,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,186,250, a decrease of 6,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,193,000.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via ETA Press Release: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report.