Jobless claims 15,000 below the economist forecast
The number of US citizens claiming unemployment benefits fell to a low in 17 months last week after solid growth.
However, an increase in the number of Covid-19 infections could pose a risk to the recovery of the labour market.
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“The healthy decline in unemployment rates is the latest evidence that the rise of the delta variant has not had a major impact on the economy,” Robert Frick, a corporate economist with the Navy Federal Credit Union in Vienna, told Reuters. “We can assume that employment remains in August and points to this month’s healthy employment report.”
In the week ending August 14, the state’s initial claims for unemployment benefits benefit were down 29,000 to 348,000 seasonally adjusted. It’s the lowest level since March, for the fourth consecutive week of decline.
The economists who voted had previously predicted 363,000 applications in the most recent week.
The market has risen and fallen behind the news, with Dow Jones Industrial Arage down 0.43% at the time of writing.
The majority of the bill decline was from Texas, according to unadjusted data, down to 8,311.
However, the big employment gap continues, with 6m less Americans who are thought to be employed compared to before the pandemic.
