New jobless claims hold steady

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- New filings for unemployment claims held steady in the latest week but continuing claims remained elevated, according to a government report released Thursday.

Initial filings for state jobless benefits came in at 353,000 in the week ended March 8, unchanged from the upwardly revised figure for the previous week, according to the Labor Department. New claims were originally reported to be 351,000 for the week ended March 1.

The consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com was for initial claims to rise 4,000 to 355,000.

The four-week moving average of new jobless claims fell to 358,500, a decrease of just 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 359,750. That's higher than the 327,750 four-week moving average during the same period last year.

"The labor market is pretty flat right now in terms of new hires," John Silvia, chief economist for Wachovia said.

"There is a lot of uncertainty out there. Be sure you keep your job, because you might not get another one that quickly," he said.

Continuing unemployment insurance claims from workers already receiving benefits rose in the week ended March 1 - the most recent week available - to 2.84 million, up 7,000 from the previous week.

The four-week moving average for continuing claims rose to 2.81 million, an increase of 24,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 2.79 million. That is well above the four-week moving average in the year-ago period, which was 2.58 million.

Continuing claims have not been this high since September 24, 2005, when claims spiked to 2.84 million in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, according to a Labor Department spokesperson.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ended March 1 were in New York, South Carolina, California, Arkansas and North Carolina. The largest decreases were in Massachusetts, Louisiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Rhode Island.

For states showing the highest jump in initial unemployment filings, most were the result of layoffs in the manufacturing and transportation sectors.

The weekly jobless figures come just after the dismal February employment report, which showed a net loss of 63,000 jobs - the deepest cut in jobs in almost 5 years.

Jobless claims offer a nearly real-time reading on layoffs and the labor market, while the employment report reflects the broader combined reading of layoffs and hiring.