The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a 17-month low last week, pointing to another month of robust job growth, though surging COVID-19 infections pose a risk to the labor market recovery.
The weekly unemployment claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday, the most timely data on the economy's health, also showed the number of people on state jobless rolls dropped in early August to levels last seen in mid-March 2020, when the economy almost ground to a halt amid mandatory business closures aimed at slowing the first wave of COVID-19 cases.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000 for the week ended Aug. 14. The fourth straight weekly decline pushed claims to their lowest level since mid-March 2020. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 363,000 applications for the latest week. Claims have declined from a record 6.149 million in early April 2020. They, however, remain above the 200,000-250,000 range that is seen as consistent with healthy labor market conditions. Claims have been grinding lower, with employers hanging on to their workers amid a labor shortage as vaccinations allow the economy to fully reopen. More than half of the population has been fully immunized against COVID-19.
Stocks on Wall Street were trading mixed after minutes of the Federal Reserve's July 29-28 policy meeting released on Wednesday showed U.S. central bank officials believed their employment benchmark for decreasing support for the economy "could be reached this year."But more than 11.
Data next week on the so-called continuing claims will offer more clues on how hiring fared in August. But surging COVID-19 infections, driven by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, loom large. Economists at Goldman Sachs on Wednesday cut their third-quarter GDP growth estimate.
The government-funded benefits will expire on Sept. 6. At least 11.7 million people were collecting unemployment benefits under all programs at the end of July.
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