New weekly jobless claims fell to the lowest level since March 2020, reaching pre-pandemic levels as the rate of new joblessness slowed further.
The Department of Labor released its weekly report on new jobless claims Thursday. Here were the main metrics, compared with consensus data compiled by Bloomberg:
- Initial jobless claims, week ended July 10: 360,000 versus 350,000 expected, and a revised 386,000 during the prior week
- Continuing claims, week ended July 3: 3.2 million versus 3.3 million expected, and a revised 3.4 million during the prior week
Initial unemployment claims extended a months-long downward trend and came in below the psychologically important 400,000 level for a third straight week. During a comparable week in mid-July last year, new filings totaled 1.5 million.
Click here to see the full report from Emily McCormick in Yahoo Finance.
The weekly jobless claims numbers help capture the pace of those rendered newly unemployed. However, labor supply shortages have become the primary concern in returning the job market to its pre-pandemic conditions. The National Federation of Independent Business said that a historically elevated 46 percent of small business owners reported job openings that could not be filled in June, and that a record high of 39 percent of owners reported raising compensation in order to attract workers.