Initial Claims Tick Up

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose unexpectedly following several weeks of declines, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

For the week ending February 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims rose to 248,000, an increase of 23,000 from the previous week, which revised up by 2,000 from 223,000 to 225,000. The four-week moving average fell to 243,250, a decrease of 10,500 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.2 percent for the week ending February 5. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 5 fell to 1,593,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week, which revised down by 2,000 from 1,621,000 to 1,619,000. The four-week moving average fell to 1,626,250, a decrease of 7,750 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 238,482 in the week ending February 12, an increase of 7,742 (3.4 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 14,676 (6.4 percent) from the previous week. Labor reported 835,045 initial claims in the comparable week in 2021.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.4 percent during the week ending February 5. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,975,407, a decrease of 24,033 (1.2 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 1,997 (0.1 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 3.5 percent and volume was 4,971,328.

The report said the total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending January 29 fell to 2,063,567, a decrease of 36,295 from the previous week. Labor reported 18,906,377 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2021.