Weekly Unemployment Aid Applications Plunge

Well of course it’s that time again. It’s time for your unemployment aid update.

Applications for jobless benefits fell by 22,000 for the week ending February 23, bringing the total to 344,000, down from last week’s revised figure of 366,000, the Labor Department announced on Thursday.

The four-week moving average, a “less volatile” figure, fell by 6,750, bringing the total to 355,000, down from last week’s revised average of 361,750.

“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending February 16, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate,” the report reads.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 16 was 3,074,000, a decrease of 91,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,165,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,155,000, a decrease of 35,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,190,500,” the report adds.

The states with the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 16 were California (+26,683), Connecticut (+1,747), Massachusetts (+883), and New Mexico (+5).

Meanwhile, Illinois (-3,285), Kansas (-3,114), Pennsylvania (-2,865), Florida (-2,442), and Ohio (-2,265) posted the biggest decreases in initial claims.

"Initial claims continue to print in a narrow range with the downward trend of 2010 and 2011 having stalled," Zero Hedge notes:

ZH

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Front page photo courtesy Getty Images.