Some 7,800 residents in D.C., Maryland and Virginia filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week, a 15% increase from the previous week, even as new unemployment filings fell nationwide.

The Labor Department’s weekly report does not report previous employment for those filing for unemployment benefits by state; but nationwide, it reports 1,580 filings last week were former federal civilian employees, 54 filings fewer than the previous week. Currently, 8,215 Americans getting unemployment benefits are former federal civilian employees, up 803 from the previous week.

For the week ending March 8, there were 220,000 new claims for unemployment benefits nationwide, down 2,000 from the previous week. The more reliable four-week moving average of new claims was 226,000, an increase of 1,500.

As of March 1, 1.87 million Americans were receiving unemployment benefits, 27,000 fewer than the previous week, and matching pre-pandemic levels.

Among states, the largest weekly increases in new unemployment filings were New York, up 15,513, Texas, up 1,774 and Kentucky, up 891. Massachusetts saw the biggest weekly drop in unemployment filings, down 3,885 from the previous week.

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