(The Center Square) – The number of initial unemployment claims filed in Maryland dropped this week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The department’s latest Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims report shows that nationwide, there was an increase of 23,000 new claims filed for the week ending Feb. 12, with a total of 248,000 claims. The four-week moving average is 243,250 new claims weekly, which is an increase of 10,500 from the previous week’s reported average.
Maryland, according to the report, saw an increase of 148 initial claims filed for the week.
For advance state claims for the week ending Feb. 12, according to the report, Maryland saw a drop of 617 claims, with 2,434 total filed for the week. The previous week there were 3,051 claims filed.
The state’s Department of Labor reported that Baltimore County had the highest number of unemployment initial claims filed for the week ending Feb. 12 with 373 claims. Baltimore City had 300 new claims filed, while Prince Georges County had 289 claims filed. Montgomery County had 205 new claims filed.
The state’s unemployment rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, sits at 5%, tied for 37th in the nation with neighboring Delaware.