“In the week ending February 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 242,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 219,000 to 220,000. The 4-week moving average was 224,000, an increase of 8,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 215,250 to 215,500. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending February 15, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate,” says the weekly jobless claims report from the US Department of Labor.
Dow Jones had estimated 225,000 claims, per NBC News. Big numbers! Yuge!