Initial claims for unemployment insurance were little changed over the past week, hovering around pandemic-era lows as the jobs market shows further signs of healing.
First-time filings totaled 353,000 for the week ended Aug. 14, a slight increase from the previous week’s 349,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was slightly worse than the 350,000 Dow Jones estimate.
Weekly claims held around the best levels they’ve seen since March 2020, though they are well above pre-pandemic levels and showing some signs of flattening.
Continuing claims also showed little change, dropping 3,000 from the previous week to 2.86 million, according to data that runs a week behind the headline number. However, the four-week moving average tumbled 108,500 to just over 2.9 million.
Maryland (3,618) and Illinois (3,515) showed the largest weekly gains, while Michigan saw a decline of 7,056, according to unadjusted data.
The total of those receiving benefits across all government programs rose to just above 12 million, according to data through Aug. 7. A year ago the total was nearly 27.5 million.
No comments:
Post a Comment