Unemployed claims total 215,000, fewer than anticipated; productivity climbs 6.6%

Key takeaways: 

• Initial claims for unemployment insurance summed 215,000, below the 225,000 estimations.
• That was the lowest tier since January 1 and arrived a day ahead of February's closely observed nonfarm payrolls report.
• A different report revealed Q4 productivity up 6.6%, just less than predicted, but with a pitch in unit labor prices well ahead of assessments.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance tallied 215,000, the lowest tally since the start of the year and fewer than Wall Street assessments, the Labor Department stated Thursday.

Economists analyzed by Dow Jones looked for first-time filings to arrive in at 225,000 for the week completed February 26.

A separate statement from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that nonfarm productivity increased 6.6% in the fourth quarter, barely more minor than the assessment for 6.7%. However, unit labor prices advanced 0.9%, well ahead of the anticipated 0.3%.

On jobless claims, the previous week's total represented a decrease of 18,000 from the last week and was the descending since January 1.

Persisting claims, which drive a week behind the headline number, bounded higher to 1.48 million. However, the four-week moving average, which shines out weekly volatility, went down to 1.54 million, the lowest level since April 4, 1970.

The total of those getting help under all programs fell further, falling to 1.97 million, a drop of 62,625.

The jobless numbers come a day before the BLS' closely watched nonfarm payrolls report. Wall Street is looking for a profit of 440,000 in February, following up the considerably stronger-than-expected 467,000 total in January.

Firms are still attempting to fill about 11 million job openings when workers' demands have grown to unparalleled levels. There are approximately 4.4 million more job openings than jobless workers are looking for jobs.