WASHINGTON – Initial jobless claims decreased to a seasonally adjusted 442,000 for the week ending March 20, the third decline in four weeks, the Labor Department reported today.
Continuing claims dropped to 4.648 million for the week ending March 13 and reached the lowest level since September 2008.
Economists expected 450,000 initial claims and 4.560 million continuing claims, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Today's figures reflect the Labor Department's annual adjustment to the seasonal factors. Initial and continuing claims figures were revised back to 2005 as the department changed the weighting factors used to calculate the seasonal effects on jobless claims. For the year, the new seasonal factors added about 46,000 initial claims through March 13 and about 2,050 continuing claims through March 6.
Initial claims for the week ending March 13 were revised to 456,000 from 457,000. Continuing claims were revised to 4.725 million from 4.579 million reflecting the new seasonal adjustment.
The four-week moving average for initial claims, a less volatile figure, fell to 453,750. The four-week average for continuing claims fell to 4.689 million for the week ending March 13.
