Initial jobless claims for the week ending 20 February 2021
- Prior 861k; revised to 841k
- Continuing claims 4,419k vs 4,460k expected
- Prior 4,494k; revised to 4,520k
The headline is lower than estimates and is also better than the previous week at least. The 4-week average for initial jobless claims fell to 807,750 in the week to 20 February from the prior week of 833,250.
That said, claims have sort of hit a floor and we’re seeing this relatively high figure week in, week out. So, there’s that to ponder if you are the Fed.
The largest increases in initial claims were in Illinois (+28,110), Ohio (+6,563), Idaho (+4,764), Kansas (+1,744), and California (+1,664).
Meanwhile, the largest decreases were in Maryland (-9,835), Rhode Island (-6,129), Georgia (-5,854), New Jersey (-4,630), and Texas (-4,234).