Washington, DC…In the week ending February 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 210,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since December 6, 1969 when it was 202,000. The previous week’s level was revised down by 2,000 from 222,000 to 220,000. The 4-week moving average was 220,500, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since December 27, 1969 when it was 219,750. The previous week’s average was revised down by 500 from 226,000 to 225,500.

Claims taking procedures in Puerto Rico and in the Virgin Islands have still not returned to normal.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.4 percent for the week ending February 17, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 17 was 1,931,000, an increase of 57,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 1,000 from 1,875,000 to 1,874,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,920,000, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 250 from 1,926,500 to 1,926,250.

UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 195,897 in the week ending February 24, a decrease of 16,316 (or -7.7 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 6,611 (or -3.1 percent) from the previous week. There were 212,829 initial claims in the comparable week in 2017.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.6 percent during the week ending February 17, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,255,253, a decrease of 5,387 (or -0.2 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 71,231 (or -3.2 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.7 percent and the volume was 2,392,472.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending February 10 was 2,295,730, a decrease of 65,030 from the previous week. There were 2,533,393 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2017.

Extended benefits were available in Alaska and the Virgin Islands during the week ending February 10.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 648 in the week ending February 17, a decrease of 61 from the prior week. There were 627 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 22 from the preceding week.

There were 11,809 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending February 10, a decrease of 1,874 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 8,451, a decrease of 2 from the prior week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 10 were in the Virgin Islands (9.6), Alaska (3.8), Puerto Rico (3.4), New Jersey (3.0), Connecticut (2.9), Montana (2.8), Rhode Island (2.7), Massachusetts (2.6), Illinois (2.5), and Pennsylvania (2.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 17 were in Puerto Rico (+496), New Jersey (+333), Rhode Island (+95), Arkansas (+87), and Alabama (+59), while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-4,820), Illinois (-2,031), New York (-998), California (-924), and Washington (-913).

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS WEEK ENDING February 24 February 17 Change February 10 Prior Year1 Initial Claims (SA) 210,000 220,000 -10,000 229,000 227,000 Initial Claims (NSA) 195,897 212,213 -16,316 232,805 212,829 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 220,500 225,500 -5,000 228,250 239,750 WEEK ENDING February 17 February 10 Change February 3 Prior Year1 Insured Unemployment (SA) 1,931,000 1,874,000 +57,000 1,948,000 2,057,000 Insured Unemployment (NSA) 2,255,253 2,260,640 -5,387 2,323,555 2,392,472 4-Wk Moving Average (SA) 1,920,000 1,926,250 -6,250 1,942,750 2,061,750 Insured Unemployment Rate (SA)2 1.4% 1.3% +0.1 1.4% 1.5% Insured Unemployment Rate (NSA)2 1.6% 1.6% 0.0 1.6% 1.7% INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED) WEEK ENDING February 17 February 10 Change Prior Year1 Federal Employees (UCFE) 648 709 -61 728 Newly Discharged Veterans (UCX) 627 649 -22 810 PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN ALL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED) WEEK ENDING February 10 February 3 Change Prior Year1 Regular State 2,257,819 2,320,540 -62,721 2,485,214 Federal Employees 11,809 13,683 -1,874 13,598 Newly Discharged Veterans 8,451 8,453 -2 11,797 Extended Benefits3922 1,005 -83 0 State Additional Benefits46,747 6,721 +26 7,667 STC / Workshare 5 9,982 10,358 -376 15,117 TOTAL 2,295,730 2,360,760 -65,030 2,533,393

FOOTNOTES SA – Seasonally Adjusted Data, NSA – Not Seasonally Adjusted Data

1.Prior year is comparable to most recent data.

2.Most recent week used covered employment of 141,013,239 as denominator.

3.Information on the EB program can be found here: EB Program information

4.Some states maintain additional benefit programs for those claimants who exhaust regular, extended and emergency benefits.Information on states that participate, and the extent of benefits paid, can be found starting on page 4-5 of this link: Extensionsand Special Programs PDF

5.Information on STC/Worksharing can be found starting on page 4-9 of the following link: Extensions and Special ProgramsPDF

Advance State Claims – Not Seasonally Adjusted Initial Claims Filed During Week Ended February 24 Insured Unemployment For Week Ended February 17 STATE Advance Prior Wk Change Advance Prior Wk Change Alabama 2,043 2,314 -271 16,857 17,076 -219 Alaska 1,108 1,108 0 12,005 11,738 267 Arizona 3,121 3,454 -333 19,744 22,552 -2,808 Arkansas 1,513 1,730 -217 13,383 14,600 -1,217 California 31,488 40,230 -8,742 399,520 371,984 27,536 Colorado 2,020 1,870 150 26,791 24,251 2,540 Connecticut 3,652 3,378 274 50,547 47,590 2,957 Delaware 464 565 -101 6,894 6,747 147 District of Columbia 458 280 178 8,200 9,011 -811 Florida 5,823 6,699 -876 36,656 40,746 -4,090 Georgia 4,683 5,739 -1,056 27,538 29,946 -2,408 Hawaii 1,257 1,261 -4 7,982 7,452 530 Idaho 1,070 1,141 -71 10,275 11,354 -1,079 Illinois 8,413 8,139 274 142,201 145,723 -3,522 Indiana 2,300 2,618 -318 25,015 24,367 648 Iowa 2,315 2,126 189 31,918 31,740 178 Kansas 2,173 1,696 477 12,891 13,733 -842 Kentucky 2,210 3,327 -1,117 23,939 23,899 40 Louisiana 1,717 1,801 -84 15,424 17,892 -2,468 Maine * 743 773 -30 9,387 9,542 -155 Maryland 2,565 3,149 -584 35,268 39,517 -4,249 Massachusetts 9,064 5,345 3,719 88,039 89,380 -1,341 Michigan 6,259 7,597 -1,338 86,339 86,996 -657 Minnesota 3,483 3,578 -95 65,589 63,400 2,189 Mississippi 706 935 -229 8,105 9,644 -1,539 Missouri 3,101 3,232 -131 31,477 34,399 -2,922 Montana 1,017 1,013 4 12,845 12,463 382 Nebraska 726 705 21 8,146 8,318 -172 Nevada 2,738 2,352 386 20,785 22,917 -2,132 New Hampshire 507 570 -63 4,901 5,314 -413 New Jersey 7,828 9,382 -1,554 116,320 116,575 -255 New Mexico 637 718 -81 10,435 10,865 -430 New York 13,789 15,087 -1,298 173,456 175,690 -2,234 North Carolina 2,599 2,942 -343 22,226 23,922 -1,696 North Dakota 451 426 25 9,142 8,073 1,069 Ohio 6,202 6,550 -348 79,064 80,957 -1,893 Oklahoma 987 1,279 -292 13,838 14,864 -1,026 Oregon 4,377 3,679 698 31,309 31,756 -447 Pennsylvania 13,225 15,193 -1,968 154,905 143,668 11,237 Puerto Rico I M 1,080 2,083 -1,003 24,912 29,616 -4,704 Rhode Island 1,947 1,011 936 12,538 12,601 -63 South Carolina 1,970 2,048 -78 17,245 18,442 -1,197 South Dakota 190 225 -35 3,351 3,468 -117 Tennessee 2,001 2,188 -187 22,477 24,369 -1,892 Texas 11,693 13,044 -1,351 127,810 132,190 -4,380 Utah 1,133 808 325 11,737 12,133 -396 Vermont 735 412 323 5,638 5,525 113 Virgin Islands I M 6 28 -22 2,928 3,576 -648 Virginia 2,493 2,360 133 26,885 27,299 -414 Washington 5,997 5,904 93 61,855 61,544 311 West Virginia 841 1,039 -198 14,968 14,687 281 Wisconsin 6,514 6,705 -191 48,816 49,455 -639 Wyoming 465 377 88 4,737 5,074 -337 US Total 195,897 212,213 -16,316 2,255,253 2,260,640 -5,387
Note: Advance Claims are not directly comparable to claims reported in prior weeks. Advance claims are reported by the state liable for paying the unemployment compensation, whereas previous weeks reported reflect claimants by state of residence. In addition, claims reported as “workshare equivalent” in the previous week are added to the advance claims as a proxy for the current week’s “workshare equivalent” activity.
*Denotes state estimate.

IAffected by Hurricane Irma.

MAffected by Hurricane Maria.

Seasonally Adjusted US Weekly UI Claims (in thousands) Week Ending Initial Claims Change from Prior Week 4-Week Average Insured Unemployment Change from Prior Week 4-Week Average IUR February 18, 2017 247 -1 245.50 2,057 5 2,061.75 1.5 February 25, 2017 227 -20 239.75 2,059 2 2,059.75 1.5 March 4, 2017 252 25 243.50 2,025 -34 2,048.25 1.5 March 11, 2017 246 -6 243.00 1,987 -38 2,032.00 1.4 March 18, 2017 261 15 246.50 2,052 65 2,030.75 1.5 March 25, 2017 259 -2 254.50 2,035 -17 2,024.75 1.5 April 1, 2017 235 -24 250.25 2,028 -7 2,025.50 1.5 April 8, 2017 234 -1 247.25 1,978 -50 2,023.25 1.4 April 15, 2017 243 9 242.75 1,987 9 2,007.00 1.4 April 22, 2017 257 14 242.25 1,979 -8 1,993.00 1.4 April 29, 2017 238 -19 243.00 1,920 -59 1,966.00 1.4 May 6, 2017 236 -2 243.50 1,899 -21 1,946.25 1.4 May 13, 2017 233 -3 241.00 1,924 25 1,930.50 1.4 May 20, 2017 235 2 235.50 1,919 -5 1,915.50 1.4 May 27, 2017 255 20 239.75 1,929 10 1,917.75 1.4 June 3, 2017 245 -10 242.00 1,936 7 1,927.00 1.4 June 10, 2017 238 -7 243.25 1,942 6 1,931.50 1.4 June 17, 2017 242 4 245.00 1,945 3 1,938.00 1.4 June 24, 2017 244 2 242.25 1,965 20 1,947.00 1.4 July 1, 2017 250 6 243.50 1,949 -16 1,950.25 1.4 July 8, 2017 248 -2 246.00 1,977 28 1,959.00 1.4 July 15, 2017 234 -14 244.00 1,965 -12 1,964.00 1.4 July 22, 2017 245 11 244.25 1,967 2 1,964.50 1.4 July 29, 2017 241 -4 242.00 1,956 -11 1,966.25 1.4 August 5, 2017 244 3 241.00 1,954 -2 1,960.50 1.4 August 12, 2017 232 -12 240.50 1,954 0 1,957.75 1.4 August 19, 2017 235 3 238.00 1,945 -9 1,952.25 1.4 August 26, 2017 236 1 236.75 1,951 6 1,951.00 1.4 September 2, 2017 298 62 250.25 1,935 -16 1,946.25 1.4 September 9, 2017 281 -17 262.50 1,979 44 1,952.50 1.4 September 16, 2017 260 -21 268.75 1,911 -68 1,944.00 1.4 September 23, 2017 269 9 277.00 1,921 10 1,936.50 1.4 September 30, 2017 258 -11 267.00 1,904 -17 1,928.75 1.4 October 7, 2017 244 -14 257.75 1,896 -8 1,908.00 1.3 October 14, 2017 223 -21 248.50 1,900 4 1,905.25 1.4 October 21, 2017 234 11 239.75 1,884 -16 1,896.00 1.3 October 28, 2017 229 -5 232.50 1,904 20 1,896.00 1.4 November 4, 2017 239 10 231.25 1,868 -36 1,889.00 1.3 November 11, 2017 252 13 238.50 1,915 47 1,892.75 1.4 November 18, 2017 240 -12 240.00 1,960 45 1,911.75 1.4 November 25, 2017 238 -2 242.25 1,911 -49 1,913.50 1.4 December 2, 2017 236 -2 241.50 1,889 -22 1,918.75 1.3 December 9, 2017 225 -11 234.75 1,936 47 1,924.00 1.4 December 16, 2017 245 20 236.00 1,951 15 1,921.75 1.4 December 23, 2017 247 2 238.25 1,905 -46 1,920.25 1.4 December 30, 2017 250 3 241.75 1,873 -32 1,916.25 1.3 January 6, 2018 261 11 250.75 1,965 92 1,923.50 1.4 January 13, 2018 216 -45 243.50 1,940 -25 1,920.75 1.4 January 20, 2018 231 15 239.50 1,956 16 1,933.50 1.4 January 27, 2018 230 -1 234.50 1,927 -29 1,947.00 1.4 February 3, 2018 223 -7 225.00 1,948 21 1,942.75 1.4 February 10, 2018 229 6 228.25 1,874 -74 1,926.25 1.3 February 17, 2018 220 -9 225.50 1,931 57 1,920.00 1.4 February 24, 2018 210 -10 220.50
INITIAL CLAIMS FILED DURING WEEK ENDED FEBRUARY 17 INSURED UNEMPLOYMENT FOR WEEK ENDED FEBRUARY 10 CHANGE FROM CHANGE FROM ALL PROGRAMS EXCLUDING RAILROAD RETIREMENT STATE NAME STATE LAST WEEK YEAR AGO UCFE 1UCX 1STATE (%) 2 LAST WEEK YEAR AGO UCFE 1UCX 1Alabama 2314 59 -249 13 9 17076 0.9 -362 -2779 71 86 17233 Alaska 1108 -84 -52 7 3 11738 3.8 -1259 -2215 180 38 12877 Arizona 3454 -481 -264 9 1 22552 0.8 -7 -3409 260 83 22895 Arkansas 1730 87 95 2 1 14600 1.2 -320 -1363 83 121 14804 California 40230 -924 -8698 168 109 371984 2.2 -33781 -59217 2457 1725 376166 Colorado 1870 -256 -260 11 12 24251 1.0 -2206 -6407 307 245 24803 Connecticut 3378 -415 -312 7 2 47590 2.9 -2337 -1020 39 87 47716 Delaware 565 15 -107 0 5 6747 1.6 -156 -559 19 15 6781 District of Columbia 280 -8 -33 10 0 9011 1.6 -177 261 316 14 9341 Florida 6699 -460 -182 19 24 40746 0.5 -3656 -2833 162 155 41063 Georgia 5739 -434 -732 35 33 29946 0.7 -769 -3604 169 205 30320 Hawaii 1261 -71 -65 4 10 7452 1.2 -256 -615 91 101 7644 Idaho 1141 -208 -207 9 4 11354 1.7 -619 -3361 324 21 11699 Illinois 8139 -2031 -832 6 11 145723 2.5 5815 -11937 299 260 146282 Indiana 2618 -173 -135 4 3 24367 0.8 379 -8340 42 47 24456 Iowa 2126 -341 0 7 4 31740 2.1 281 -2847 57 35 31832 Kansas 1696 -430 -273 0 3 13733 1.0 319 -815 58 46 13837 Kentucky 3327 -140 575 4 4 23899 1.3 -1411 -1674 121 147 24167 Louisiana 1801 -359 -330 6 7 17892 1.0 -674 -2687 34 23 17949 Maine 773 4 96 1 0 9542 1.6 42 -859 47 12 9601 Maryland 3149 -539 -416 16 15 39517 1.6 -252 -4080 387 125 40029 Massachusetts 5345 -608 -1083 6 12 89380 2.6 -937 -2389 157 166 89703 Michigan 7597 -4820 -2426 6 20 86996 2.1 -4242 -10689 195 99 87290 Minnesota 3578 -420 -87 3 4 63400 2.3 -2177 -2791 153 63 63616 Mississippi 935 -260 -243 5 2 9644 0.9 -108 -1904 68 26 9738 Missouri 3232 -493 -1500 4 3 34399 1.3 407 526 155 62 34616 Montana 1013 8 142 16 1 12463 2.8 -84 -1295 550 31 13045 Nebraska 705 -98 59 5 1 8318 0.9 -138 -164 23 15 8356 Nevada 2352 -231 -271 2 4 22917 1.8 71 -2811 206 74 23197 New Hampshire 570 10 -6 1 0 5314 0.8 -25 -435 2 10 5326 New Jersey 9382 333 -675 21 19 116575 3.0 -1634 -6476 275 285 117135 New Mexico 718 -72 -218 1 2 10865 1.4 -320 -1913 314 55 11234 New York 15087 -998 -1980 21 32 175690 1.9 666 -11953 366 414 176470 North Carolina 2942 -433 -186 5 9 23922 0.6 -455 -3175 104 160 24186 North Dakota 426 -102 -27 3 0 8073 2.0 67 -1101 17 6 8096 Ohio 6550 -852 -532 3 21 80957 1.5 1068 -5153 131 209 81297 Oklahoma 1279 -223 -156 4 6 14864 1.0 -136 -2873 63 79 15006 Oregon 3679 -575 -647 27 9 31756 1.7 -327 -3083 687 105 32548 Pennsylvania 15193 -435 -1005 59 39 143668 2.5 -11292 -18312 500 360 144528 Puerto Rico 2083 496 518 2 9 29616 3.4 -1398 5478 26 63 29705 Rhode Island 1011 95 -214 3 0 12601 2.7 -41 -518 21 18 12640 South Carolina 2048 -492 -22 2 12 18442 0.9 -604 1968 48 83 18573 South Dakota 225 -16 -11 6 0 3468 0.8 -26 -419 45 2 3515 Tennessee 2188 -496 -232 9 7 24369 0.9 -254 1666 122 72 24563 Texas 13044 -694 -797 49 121 132190 1.1 2297 -21102 538 1367 134095 Utah 808 31 -246 3 3 12133 0.9 -248 -2184 267 23 12423 Vermont 412 -63 -159 1 0 5525 1.8 -40 -742 11 4 5540 Virgin Islands 28 -6 13 0 0 3576 9.6 -780 3124 0 16 3592 Virginia 2360 -734 -637 13 8 27299 0.8 238 -2775 282 289 27870 Washington 5904 -913 -1809 13 15 61544 1.9 -1117 -6889 549 617 62710 West Virginia 1039 -119 4 0 3 14687 2.2 275 -2097 62 44 14793 Wisconsin 6705 -225 -334 12 5 49455 1.8 -241 -6889 121 30 49606 Wyoming 377 2 39 5 0 5074 1.9 26 -1312 228 13 5315 Totals 212213 -20592 -27109 648 627 2260640 1.6 -62915 -229042 11809 8451 2281822
Figures Appearing In columns showing Over-The-Week Changes reflect all revisions in data for prior week submitted by State agencies.

1.The Unemployment Compensation program for Federal Employees (UCFE) and the Unemployment Compensation forEx-servicemembers (UCX) exclude claims filed jointly under other programs to avoid duplication.

2.Rate is not seasonally adjusted. The source of US total covered employment is BLS.
UNADJUSTED INITIAL CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDED FEBRUARY 17, 2018
STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 State Change State Supplied Comment None
STATES WITH A DECREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000 State Change State Supplied Comment MI -4,820 Fewer layoffs in the construction industry. IL -2,031 No comment.

TECHNICAL NOTES
This news release presents the weekly unemployment insurance (UI) claims reported by each state’s unemployment insurance program offices. These claims may be used for monitoring workload volume, assessing state program operations and for assessing labor market conditions. States initially report claims directly taken by the state liable for the benefit payments, regardless of where the claimant who filed the claim resided. These are the basis for the advance initial claims and continued claims reported each week. These data come from ETA 538, Advance Weekly Initial and Continued Claims Report. The following week initial claims and continued claims are revised based on a second reporting by states that reflect the claimants by state of residence. These data come from the ETA 539, Weekly

Claims and Extended Benefits Trigger Data Report.

A. Initial Claims
An initial claim is a claim filed by an unemployed individual after a separation from an employer. The claimant requests a determination of basic eligibility for the UI program. When an initial claim is filed with a state, certain programmatic activities take place and these result in activity counts including the count of initial claims. The count of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance is a leading economic indicator because it is an indication of emerging labor market conditions in the country. However, these are weekly administrative data which are difficult to seasonally adjust, making the series subject to some volatility.

B. Continued Weeks Claimed

A person who has already filed an initial claim and who has experienced a week of unemployment then files a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. Continued claims are also referred to as insured unemployment. The count of U.S. continued weeks claimed is also a good indicator of labor market conditions. Continued claims reflect the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for UI benefits in the nation. While continued claims are not a leading indicator (they roughly coincide with economic cycles at their peaks and lag at cycle troughs), they provide confirming evidence of the direction of the U.S. economy.

C. Seasonal Adjustments and Annual Revisions
Over the course of a year, the weekly changes in the levels of initial claims and continued claims undergo regularly occurring fluctuations. These fluctuations may result from seasonal changes in weather, major holidays, the opening and closing of schools, or other similar events. Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year, their influence on the level of a series can be tempered by adjusting for regular seasonal variation. These adjustments make trend and cycle developments easier to spot. At the beginning of each calendar year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) with a set of seasonal factors to apply to the unadjusted data during that year. Concurrent with the implementation and release of the new seasonal factors, ETA incorporates revisions to the UI claims historical series caused by updates to the unadjusted data.

Weekly Claims Archives Weekly Claims Data
U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The Departments Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts Departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the Department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).

U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Washington, D.C. 20210 Release Number: USDL 18-316-NAT Program Contacts: Tony Sznoluch (202) 693-3176 Sandra Trujillo (202) 693-2933 Media Contact: (202) 693-4676