Initial claims for unemployment remained roughly steady last week, with a slight decrease of 1,000, indicating that the labor market remains tight. Claims have not increased dramatically despite the wave of layoffs plaguing tech workers. The four-week average of weekly claims declined slightly last week to 196,250. The number of claims has been consistently staying at or below the pre-pandemic average of around 220,000 for several months now. Continuing claims increased by 14,000 to 1.69 million in the week ending March 11th.
