Unemployment Aid Apps Increase For First Time In A While

Let’s strap in and get ready: It’s time for our weekly unemployment applications aid report.

Applications for jobless benefits rose by 2,000 for the week ending March 16, bringing the total to 336,000, up from last week’s revised figure of 334,000, the Labor Department announced on Thursday.

It’s the first increase in roughly four weeks.

However, the four-week moving average, a “less volatile” figure, fell by 7,500, bringing the total to 339,750, down from last week’s revised average of 347,250.

“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending March 9, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate,” the report reads.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 9 was 3,053,000, an increase of 5,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,048,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,076,250, a decrease of 28,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,104,250,” it adds.

Continuing claims also increased, up from 3,048K to 3,053K, beating expectations of a print of 3,050K.

The states with the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 9 were Georgia (+1,678), Florida (+802), Pennsylvania (+801), Ohio (+741), and Texas (+640).

Meanwhile, New York (-7,248), California (-6,189), Illinois (-1,172), Kansas (-1,098), and Alabama (-1,083) posted the biggest decreases in initial claims.

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Front page photo courtesy Getty Images.