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Jobless claims make notable drop

First-time unemployment claims in the U.S. stooped to 730,000 in the week ending Feb. 20. This was a sharp decline from 841,000 the week before and significantly down from the Dow Jones estimate of 845,000.

In the week ending February 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 730,000, a decrease of 111,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

The previous week’s level was revised down by 20,000 from 861,000 to 841,000. The 4-week moving average was 807,750, a decrease of 20,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 5,000 from 833,250 to 828,250. 

Advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.1 percent for the week ending February 13, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 13 was 4,419,000, a decrease of 101,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

The previous week’s level was revised up 26,000 from 4,494,000 to 4,520,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,547,000, a decrease of 91,500 from the previous week’s revised average.