Map Shows States With Highest Number of People Losing Their Jobs

Initial jobless claims data issued Thursday reveals Oklahoma, Ohio, Tennessee, Iowa, and the District of Columbia as the states with the highest increase in unemployment filings, with Oklahoma leading at 1,802 claims in the week ending February 17.

The surge comes as overall U.S. jobless claims rose to 215,000 for the week ending February 24, ahead of economist expectations of 210,000, marking an uptick in the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits.

While Oklahoma led with the most claims filed for the week, Ohio saw 915, and Tennessee, Iowa, and the District of Columbia saw upticks of 490, 387, and 198, respectively, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Continued claims, a measure of the number of people who have experienced a week of unemployment and then filed a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment, came in at 1.905 million, ahead of the 1.874 million expectations, which "surprised" Comerica Bank chief economist Bill Adams.

"More surprisingly, mid-February saw continued jobless claims rise to the second highest since late 2021," Adams shared with Newsweek via email. "And the four-week moving average of continued claims, which smooths out the volatility of the weekly series, was the highest since late 2021 as well."

The chief economist noted that despite the labor market's continued tightness, a gradual widening of slack has been observed since last year. The unemployment rate remained near a half-century low at 3.7 percent in January, according to Adams, attributed to a decline in the labor force participation rate from 62.8 percent at its recovery-to-date high last August and September to 62.5 percent in December and January.

Had the labor force participation rate remained constant since last summer, "the unemployment rate would have risen at the turn of the year," Adams said. Despite the dynamics, the chief economist said that Fed policymakers' primary focus remains on inflation, viewing the January increase in the core PCE deflator as justification for their cautious approach to rate cuts.

Larry Tentarelli, chief technical strategist at Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, echoes that sentiment of cautious optimism, telling Newsweek in an email that with the unemployment rate holding low at 3.7 percent as of last month, the Fed is in a position to deliberate on rate cuts.

"We believe that the Fed has the luxury of waiting to cut rates at this point, as jobs and the economy hold up well," Tentarelli said. "Fed Chair Powell has stated that to cut rates too soon would be a mistake, as it could reignite inflation."

"We view a strong economy and strong jobs market as bullish factors overall," he said, adding that "if the Fed has a choice to hold rates higher for longer and accept some economic weakness, they will choose this outcome instead of cutting rates too early."