Weekly unemployment claims rose less than expected last week, but remained above pre-pandemic levels as the US economy tried to shake up the impact of Covid-19 and employers waited to see if President Joe Biden’s stimulus of 1.9 trillions of dollars will become law.
The Department of Labor reported Thursday that the first unemployment insurance filings in the week ended March 6 totaled 712,000 seasonally adjusted, below the Dow Jones estimate of 725,000.
The submission of state aid to the unemployed, seen as a proxy for layoffs, has slowed in recent weeks, but remains firmly above pre-pandemic levels. The four-week moving average, which calms the fluctuations of the weekly number, was 759,000.
The pre-Covid record for first-time candidates was 695,000.
Continued claims have fallen again, from 193,000 to 4.1 million, another low from the pandemic era, in the figures a week behind the number of main claims.
The latest Department of Labor report comes on the back of mostly positive signs for the US economy.
This is largely due to the accelerated release of Covid-19 vaccines and expectations that most Americans over the age of 18 could be inoculated before the peak of the summer months.
“This is once again the lowest footprint of the pandemic, as workers are slowly being brought back online,” wrote Ian Lyngen, tariff strategist at BMO Capital Markets. “On the net, a solid labor market reading that maintains the recovery trend in place as vaccines are administered and covide restrictions continue to be lifted.”
Employers added 379,000 jobs in February amid strong hiring at restaurants and bars, according to the department’s latest monthly report released Friday. Meanwhile, the government stimulus helped boost household incomes and spending in January, when the US Treasury paid millions of payments of $ 600.
The back wind is virtually guaranteed to rise after President Joe Biden signs a $ 1.9 trillion aid package into law that will send a $ 1,400 round to U.S. checks and allocate billions for distribution efforts. vaccines.
The bill, to be signed on Friday, is expected to catapult the U.S. growth rate to multi-year highs later in 2021. In addition to direct payments, the bill includes an extension of federal unemployment assistance of 300 USD per week, the extension of the children’s tax credit for one year and a $ 350 billion exemption to state, local and tribal governments.
However, the establishment of the job market has been a slow factor in the wider economic environment. Although the unemployment rate fell from a pandemic peak of 14.8% in April last year to 6.2% in February, there are still huge gaps in employment.
About 10 million unemployed people remained until February, and the report of the Department of Labor indicated on Thursday that over 20 million continued to receive some form of unemployment compensation until February 20.