March 17, 2022 - 8:15am | By Kyle Cornell
(Washington, DC) -- First-time claims for unemployment benefits fell to 214-thousand last week. That's the word Thursday from the Labor Department.
The figure is 15-thousand fewer than the previous week's revised total and a better showing than analysts' forecast of 220-thousand. Thursday's number also represents the lowest total since the first of the year.
The biggest increases in claims were in New York, California, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Ohio. The sharpest declines were in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Tennessee, and Rhode Island.