US jobless claims filings unchanged from previous week at 213,000 as layoffs remain low

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week was unchanged from the week before, a sign that layoffs remain at historically low levels.

U.S. filings for jobless aid for the week ending Feb. 28 matched the previous week’s 213,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet forecast 215,000 new benefit applications.

Filings for unemployment benefits are viewed as a proxy for U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.

The four-week moving average of jobless claims, which smooths out some of the weekly ups and downs, fell by 4,750 to 215,750.

The total number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the previous week ending Feb. 21 jumped by 46,000 to 1.87 million, the government said.