The Department of Labor is reporting that there were 351,000 initial claims for unemployment last week, dropping 14,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 365,000. This ties a four-year low reached last month and continues the trend of unemployment claims falling below the 375,000 threshold signaling sustained job gains. The four-week moving average, a measure which reduces volatility, was unchanged at 355,750.
The number of people claiming benefits in all state unemployment programs plus the federal emergency extended program for the week ending February 25 was 7,424,040, an increase of 36,392 from the previous week. As Meteor Blades has noted, though, we can expect that number to drop in coming months as reduced eligibility for the extended program kicks in.