More US Job Seekers Unable to Find Work - US Labor Department

In the week ending February 21, the advance figure for jobless claims was 313,000, an increase of 31,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to a statement of US Department of Labor.

 

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A growing number of job seekers in the United States were unable to find employment during the past week and jobless claims increased by 31,000 from the previous week’s revised levels, a US Department of Labor said in a statement on Thursday.

“In the week ending February 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 313,000, an increase of 31,000 from the previous week’s revised level,” the statement said.

The average over four weeks showed the same sentiment among American job seekers not able to find work as the 4 week moving average for US job seekers shot up 11,500 from the previous week’s number, now at 294,500, the statement added.

The largest increases in jobless claims, according to the statement, were in the US states of Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Washington.

In actual figures, however, the number of US job seekers did see a decrease from the previous week of 21,000, showing that some Americans did find jobs, leaving the new number at 2,401,000, the statement said.

The statement also saw jobless claim decreases in California, Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois and Texas.

The data released by the US Department of Labor are seasonally adjusted, and can change week-to-week and month-to-month, according to the statement.