Jobless Claims: New Claims Increase Moderately

Bottom Line: Initial claims climbed moderately after declining for 2 consecutive weeks. The 4-week average is at 272k, still below the 13-week average that is now 277k, indicating the labor market trends are improving modestly. The continuing claims fell slightly and remained on their 6-year long declining trend. Jobless Claims ROSE by 10k during the week ended February 20th to 272k, compared with market expectations for an increase to 275k. The 4-week average FELL by 1k to 272k and the 13 week average ROSE by 1k to 277k. Initial claims have been on a declining trend over the past 6 years but the pace of decline has now slowed. Continuing Claims FELL by 19k during the week ended February 13th to 2,253k, after the prior week was revised slightly higher from 2,273k to 2,272k. The 4-week average FELL by 5k to 2,257k. Continuing claims have also been on a declining trend for more than 5 years. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, Continuing Claims FELL by 46k to 2,612k during the week ended February 6th. Continuing claims have been declining amid modest volatility for the past six years. The Insured Jobless Rate STAYED at 1.7% during the week ended February 13th. The insured jobless rate only reflects the number of people collecting regular state unemployment insurance.