Unemployment claims for the first time rose to 965,000 last week amid signs of a slowdown in employment due to pandemic restrictions, the Labor Department reported on Thursday.
The total was worse than Wall Street estimates of 800,000 and over the previous week’s total of 784,000.
Markets have reacted little to this number, as the decline in economic activity is expected to be met with more stimulus from Washington. President-elect Joe Biden announced his hopes for another $ 1 trillion package later on Thursday.
Futures prices continued to show fractional opening gains on Wall Street.
However, the number of unemployed for the week ended January 9 was another sign of economic turmoil caused by restrictions in the activity aimed at combating the pandemic. The total was the highest since the week of August 22, when just over 1 million applications were submitted.
Continuous demand was also higher, rising from 199,000 to 5.27 million. This figure rises one week behind the total weekly damage and has risen for the first time since the end of November.
The total number of government beneficiaries fell sharply, despite the increase in the weekly number. This level fell to 18.4 million from 19.2 million in the previous week. The data runs two weeks after the total number of weekly damages. The decline came primarily from a landslide of emergency petitioners for the pandemic, although it remains well over the 2.18 million who receive benefits a year earlier.
The increase in compensation claims has spread to a handful of states, especially those with stricter restrictions on businesses.
Illinois, where Chicago stopped on restaurants, jumped 51,280, according to unadjusted data. Other big winners were California, which does not even allow outdoor dining, and saw the number of its claims increase by 20,587, an increase of 13%. New York grew by 15,559.
However, several countries with relatively weak restrictions also recorded notable gains. Florida saw its claims more than double to 50,747, while Texas saw an increase of 14,282.
There have been signs lately that job gains, which began in May, have begun to cool.
In December, non-agricultural wages fell for the first time during the recovery from Covid market lows, falling by 140,000, while the unemployment rate remained at 6.7%.
The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that business contacts in all 12 central bank districts reported declining employment and difficulties in filling positions. Economists generally see the 2021 economy as starting slowly, but gaining momentum as the year progresses and the Covid-19 vaccine spreads.