Weekly unemployment report shows decrease in jobless claims

The U.S. Department of Labor’s latest weekly unemployment report shows another sizable decrease in the number of new unemployment claims, down to 368,000.

In the week ending Feb. 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 368,000, a decrease of 20,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 388,000. The 4-week moving average was 388,500, a decrease of 12,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 401,250.

Bill McBride of Calculated Risk notes that this is the first time the four-week average has dropped below 400,000 since July 2008 and says, “There is nothing magical about the 400,000 level, but breaking below 400,000 is a good sign. The sharp drop in weekly claims suggests improvement in the labor market.”