The level of new jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week, signaling a weakening trend in the labor market as states across the U.S. grapple with a resurgence in coronavirus cases. Another 1.4 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment insurance benefits, up from just over 1.3 million the prior week, to mark the first increase in new claims on a week over week basis since March.
Here were the main results from the report, compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:
- Initial jobless claims, week ended July 18: 1.4 million vs. 1.3 million expected and 1.3 million during the prior week
- Continuing claims, week ended July 11: 16.2 million vs. 17.1 million expected and 17.3 million during the prior week
New jobless claims topped one million for an 18th straight week, with the pandemic and social distancing measures driving stubbornly high levels of joblessness since mid-March. The total number of new claims filed since the week ended March 20 topped 52 million.
“A resurgence in virus cases has resulted in a pause or rollback of re-openings across states. Businesses are once again closing and layoffs are rising,” Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics, wrote in an email Thursday. “The risk from repeated business closures is that temporary job losses will become permanent. This could result in an even slower pace of recovery.”
Click here to read the full report from Emily McCormick for Yahoo Finance.
The latest jobless claims report comes as lawmakers race against the clock to deliver another stimulus package to support individuals and businesses hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The $600 per-week in additional federal unemployment benefits – a key measure included in the previous $2 trillion-plus relief package – is set to expire at the end of July. Debates in Washington over the shape of a new stimulus package were under way this week.