Jobless claims drop to 215K, a two-month low

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• Initial Jobless Claims: -18K to 215K vs. 232K consensus and 233K prior (revised from 232K).
• 4-week moving average was 230.5K, a decrease of 6K from the previous week's revised average of 236,500.
• The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.1% for the week ended Feb. 19, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.
• The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 194,693 in the week ended Feb. 26, a decrease of 21,285 (or 9.9%) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 2,985 (or 1.4 percent) from the previous week. There were 756,629 initial claims in the comparable week in 2021.
• Continuing jobless claims of 1.476M vs. 1.474M prior and 1.475M consensus.