Initial jobless claims held at 213,000 (SA) in the week ending Feb 28 (0 WoW; -11,000 YoY), while continuing claims rose and the four-week average declined, showing mixed short-term signals in unemployment insurance data.

• Initial claims (SA) were unchanged WoW at 213,000 (prior: 213,000) and were below 224,000 a year earlier, indicating filings remained steady and lower than last year’s level.

• Initial claims (NSA) increased +18,820 WoW to 213,090 from 194,270 and were slightly below 226,019 in the same week last year, reflecting a weekly rise in unadjusted filings while remaining lower YoY.

• The four-week moving average of initial claims (SA) declined -4,750 to 215,750 from 220,500 and remained below 226,500 last year, indicating the smoothed trend in new claims moved lower week-to-week.

• Insured unemployment (SA) increased +46,000 WoW to 1,868,000 from 1,822,000 and remained slightly below 1,892,000 a year earlier, showing a weekly increase in continuing claims while still under the prior year level.

• Insured unemployment (NSA) rose +70,529 WoW to 2,208,197 from 2,137,668 and was below 2,231,017 last year, indicating a similar increase in unadjusted continuing claims.

• The four-week moving average of insured unemployment (SA) increased +6,750 to 1,851,500 from 1,844,750 but remained below 1,859,750 a year earlier, suggesting a slightly higher short-term trend but still under the YoY level.

• The insured unemployment rate held steady at 1.2% (SA) and 1.4% (NSA), unchanged WoW, with the NSA rate slightly below 1.5% recorded in the same week last year.