U.S. unemployment claims dip

In the week ending March 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims in the U.S. was 457,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s unrevised figure. The four-week moving average was 471,250, a decrease of 4,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending March 6, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 6 was 4.579 million, an increase of 12,000 from the preceding week’s revised level. The four-week moving average was approximately 4.575 million, a decrease of 8,000 from the preceding week’s revised average.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.166 million.