Jobless claims held at 213,000, but continuing filings rise to 1.87 million

Summary of the news

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week held steady at 213,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, as layoffs remained low. But filings that track longer spells out of work increased: the total number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits for the week ending Feb. 21 rose to 1.87 million.

The Labor Department reported the week ending Feb. 28 figure as unchanged from the prior week, pointing to a labor market where new layoffs have not accelerated. Economists and markets often treat those initial filings as a proxy for layoffs, because they tend to move quickly as employer decisions change.

The Labor Department also reported that the four-week moving average of initial jobless claims fell by 4,750 to 215,750. That measure is designed to smooth out week-to-week swings, offering a steadier view of the trend in new claims.

Separately, the government said the number of people filing for unemployment benefits in the previous week jumped by 46,000 to 1.87 million. That increase suggests that, even with new claims flat, more people were continuing to seek unemployment assistance while looking for work.

The report arrived as the broader labor picture has been mixed, with hiring showing signs of cooling and uncertainty weighing on employers’ decisions. In recent data, the government reported that employers added 130,000 jobs in January and that the unemployment rate fell to 4.3% from 4.4%, though subsequent government revisions cut 2024–2025 payroll totals.

The unemployment rate itself sits at 4.3% in the FRED vintage for this article date, while the broader U-6 measure is 8.0%. Together, those benchmarks reflect a labor market that remains at relatively low official unemployment but still includes underemployment and other forms of job-market strain.

While weekly layoffs have broadly stayed in a relatively low range in recent years, the report noted that some high-profile companies have announced job cuts, including UPS, Amazon, Dow, and The Washington Post. At the same time, the Labor Department has also reported that job openings fell in December to the lowest level in more than five years.

Economists cited in the report said they are split on whether recent strength in hiring represents a one-time rebound or the start of improvement. Some Fed officials have argued that weak hiring reflects the effect of borrowing costs on growth, suggesting that continued improvement could challenge that view, while the February labor data set employers’ behavior against that backdrop.

For now, the Labor Department’s figures present a picture of a “low-hire, low-fire” environment: new jobless claims remain steady, but continuing filings move higher—signals that the job search challenge for many workers may not ease simply because layoffs stay uncommon.