US: Initial weekly jobless claims increased by 8,000 to 225,000

"In the week ending February 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 225,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level" the U.S. Department of Labor announced on Thursday.

Key takeaways from the press release

• The 4-week moving average was 229,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised average.
• The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3 percent for the week ending February 16, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week's unrevised rate.
• The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 16 was 1,805,000, an increase of 79,000 from the previous week's revised level.