Initial Claims for the Week Ended Mar 13

Updated 18-Mar-10 09:09 ET

Highlights

The initial claims figure posted a modest decline, falling from 462,000 for the week ending March 6 to 457,000 for the week ending March 13.
The consensus estimate called for a fall to 455,000.
The continuing claims figure rose for the second consecutive week as the number of workers receiving unemployment insurance increased from 4.567 mln to 4.579 mln for the week ending March 6.
The consensus estimate called for a decline to 4.522 mln.

The limited movement in claims over the past three weeks suggests that the labor market has hit a new equilibrium plateau.
It could take a few more weeks before it breaks out again in a steep downward trajectory.
Job creation remains stagnant. For the week ending Feb. 27, the nonseasonally adjusted continuing claims figure declined by 57,819. At the same time, workers receiving extended benefits increased by 360,123. The data suggest that just about all of the people that stopped receiving unemployment insurance were simply transferred to extended benefits instead of finding new jobs.

New claims have dropped below 500,000, but they are still well above the typical levels found during the last recession. As major companies finish their labor restructuring, many of the newly unemployed are coming from smaller businesses. This tends to cause more hardship on Main Street as many of these workers are unprepared for their job loss.

Category	Mar 13	Mar 6	Feb 27	Feb 20	Feb 13
Initial Claims	457K	462K	468K	498K	474K
4-Wk Moving Avg	471K	476K	471K	474K	468K
Continued Benefits		4579K	4567K	4521K	4634K
4-Wk Moving Avg		4575K	4583K	4581K	4605K