US Weekly Jobless Claims Decrease in the Week Ending March 18th

The US Department of Labor is reporting that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 191,000 during the week ending on Saturday, March 18th. This is a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 192,000. The 4-week moving average was 196,250—a decrease of 250 from the previously week’s unrevised level of 196,500.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment, known as continuing claims, during the week ending March 11th was 1,694,000. This is an increase of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,680,000 (originally reported as 1,684,000). The 4-week moving average was 1,684,000—an increase of 8,500 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,675,500 (originally reported as 1,676,500).

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending March 11th, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.