U.S. unemployment claims increase

In the week ending Feb. 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims in the U.S. was 496,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week’s revised figure. The four-week moving average was 473,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending Feb. 13, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Feb. 13 was 4.617 million, an increase of 6,000 from the preceding week’s revised level. The four-week moving average was approximately 4.601 million, an increase of 4,250 from the preceding week’s revised average.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.209 million.