New claims for unemployment benefits fell below 400,000 for the first time since the pandemic hit the US economy and caused mass layoffs, according to data released by the government on Thursday.
In the week ending May 29, 385,000 new applications for seasonally adjusted unemployment benefits were made, lower than expected and 20,000 fewer than the previous week, giving another sign that the impact of the pandemic on the labor market is waning. dimming.
Another 76,098 people, data not seasonally corrected, made their requests under the special program created for workers affected by the pandemic (PUA) but who do not qualify to access the conventional subsidy.
“The downward trend in unemployment benefits is encouraging but absolute levels are still a concern,” Gregory Daco of Oxford Economics said on Twitter. He noted that more than 15.4 million people, as of the week ending May 15, were receiving some form of unemployment compensation.
Weekly requests for subsidies soared into the millions in March last year following the shutdown of economic activities to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
But requests began to decline steadily when reopening sustained by vaccination allowed activities to resume, and for weeks they have been declining.
The data also shows that the moving four-week average dropped from 30,500 requests to 428,000. This is the lowest figure since the start of the pandemic.
The rate of those requesting normal benefits grew to 2.7%, with almost 3.8 million in the week ended May 22.
The non-seasonally revised number of those who receive benefits from all programs had a second week of decline with 366,178 fewer applications reported than in the previous week, the report says.
Listens
Rubeela Farooqi of the High Frequency Economics cabinet warned that reports in the coming weeks may give a distorted picture of employment, as 25 states ended their special unemployment benefit programs due to the pandemic. Farooqui estimates that this can impact 3.6 million people.
“It is not yet clear whether a decline in those levels will translate into substantial job growth and whether it sends an accurate signal on labor market conditions,” he said in an analysis.
