New York state saw a recent spike in layoffs, according to new government data. The number of people filing initial applications for unemployment benefits in the state more than doubled to 38,550 in the week ending Feb. 28 from 17,494 the week before.
Layoffs in New York’s transportation and warehousing, accommodation and food service, and educational-service industries led the jump, according to a U.S. Department of Labor news release issued Thursday. New York posted the largest rise in claims among the 50 states in the latest week. Tennessee and California were a distant second and third, respectively.
The number of people continuing to receive unemployment-insurance benefits in the Empire State also rose sharply to 240,851 in the week ending Feb. 28 from 217,491 in the prior week, according to the Labor Department data.
The state data is not seasonally adjusted.
Nationally, the picture was completely different.
The U.S. Labor Department also reported Thursday that nationwide the number of people filing initial unemployment claims plummeted by 36,000 to 289,000 for the week ending March 7. The national figures are seasonally adjusted.
The different approach to seasonal adjustments and the fact that the national numbers are one week ahead could explain sharp divergences in the direction of the state and U.S. claims data in a given week.
The Labor Department will release state data for new unemployment-benefit filings for the week ending March 7 next week.