US: Initial weekly jobless claims decreased by 3,000 to 223,000

"In the week ending March 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 223,000, a decrease of 3,000 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 226,250, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average.
• The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending February 23, a decrease 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 23 was 1,755,000, a decrease of 50,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 1,805,000.