It's Jobless Thursday

And initial claims continue to bounce around in the mid 300K range, rising to to 353,000 up from last week's 349,000.

It's still recession level initial claims, but it's no longer apocalyptic.

It's going to be interesting how the ending of extended benefits in September will effect this:

The number of workers applying for and receiving unemployment benefits has reached pandemic lows over the past month, a sign the job-market recovery remains on sound footing despite uncertainty surrounding the Delta variant of Covid-19.

Unemployment claims edged up to 353,000 last week from a revised 349,000 a week earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week moving average, which smooths out volatility in the weekly figures, fell to 366,500 last week, a new pandemic low.

………

The claims figures are consistent with other data that indicate the job-market recovery is continuing. Employers added 943,000 jobs in July, the best gain in 11 months, according to the Labor Department, which also said job openings reached a record level at the end of June.

Separately, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew at a 6.6% seasonally adjusted annual rate in the second quarter of the year, an upward revision from the department’s first estimate of 6.5%. The upward revision reflected higher estimates for business investment and exports, the department said.

So, we remain in the doldrums.