Weekly jobless claims edged higher last week but rose less than expected for an economy struggling to shake off impacts from a pandemic that has been around now for nearly a year.
The Labor Department reported first-time filings for unemployment insurance in the week ended Feb. 27 totaled a seasonally adjusted 745,000, a touch below the Dow Jones estimate of 750,000. The total was a slight uptick from the previous week’s upwardly revised 736,000.
Unseasonably harsh winter storms in Texas took a tool on the labor market, resulting in an increase of 17,769 filings for the state, according to unadjusted data. Ohio and New York also saw considerable increases in claims.
Continuing claims continued to decrease, falling 124,000 to just below 4.3 million, another pandemic-era low.
This is breaking news. Please check back here for updates.
