Weekly Jobless Claims Plunge 27K

Here we go again. It’s time for your weekly unemployment claims report.

Applications for jobless benefits fell by 27,000 for the week ending February 9, bringing the total to 341,000, down from last week’s revised figure of 368,000, the Labor Department announced on Thursday.

The four-week moving average, a “less volatile” figure, increased by 1,500, bringing the total to 352,500, up from last week’s revised average of 351,000.

“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending February 2, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate,” the report reads.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 2 was 3,114,000, a decrease of 130,000 from the preceding week's unrevised level of 3,244,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,187,250, a decrease of 28,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,216,000,” the report adds.

The states with the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 2 were California (+11,784), Texas (+2,071), New York (+2,066), Florida (+2,050), and Oregon (+1,603),

Meanwhile, North Carolina (-2,681), Tennessee (-2,003), Alabama (-1,248), Michigan (-1,011), Connecticut (-676) posted the biggest decreases in initial claims.

However, here's something worth noting: “A department spokesman said Connecticut was unable to report data to the federal government earlier this week because state offices were closed after the storm,” The Associated Press reports.

“Illinois also didn't provide data, so both states' figures were estimated by the Labor Department,” the report adds.

So take from that what you will.

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Front page photo courtesy Getty Images.