Initial unemployment claims fell to 348,000 last week, beating expectations and hitting a post pandemic low.
Better news, but still well above the old normal:
Jobless claims fell to a new pandemic low last week, suggesting the labor market continues to heal even as the Delta variant causes uncertainty.
First-time applications for benefits, a proxy for layoffs, fell by 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000 in the week ended Aug. 14, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was the lowest level of claims since the pandemic took hold in the U.S. in March 2020.
The four-week moving average, which smooths often volatile data, fell to 377,750 last week, also a fresh pandemic low. New jobless claims have fallen for four straight weeks and are down more than 50% since January.
………
Continuing claims for regular state programs, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, fell to a seasonally adjusted 2.8 million for the week ended Aug. 7, the Labor Department said. That was also the lowest since March 2020.
One hopes that this trend does not reverse when the stimulus ends in September.
0 comments :
Post a Comment