The DOL reported Friday that the number of people filing new claims in the week ending March 28, was 669,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 657,000. Economists were expecting claims to fall to 650,000.
The 4-week moving average was 656,750, an increase of 6,500, the highest level since October 1982, a period when the economy was just pulling out of a recession.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 21 was 5,728,000, an increase of 161,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 5,567,000.
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 21 were in California (+6,720), Missouri (+2,942), Kansas (+2,018), Oklahoma (+1,406), and Iowa (+1,134), while the largest decreases were in Texas (-4,822), New York (-3,172), Tennessee (-2,707), Illinois (-1,485), and Virginia (-1,407).
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