Weekly demands for unemployed people last week were slightly lower than expected, although the U.S. employment rate remains sluggish.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance amounted to 779 000 for the week ended 30 January, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. This was lower than the estimate of 830,000 of economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
It was the lowest week for claims since November 28, as the U.S. economy continued its slow recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The total has dropped by 33,000 compared to the downward revision of 812,000 from the previous week.
Continued claims also continued to drive lower, dropping by 193,000 from the previous reporting week to 4.6 million. The pandemic era for ongoing claims was 24.9 million in early May 2020. Continued claim data runs one week behind the first claims.
In addition, the total number of those receiving benefits fell sharply, dropping by almost half a million to 17.8 million. This reflects a steady decline in those receiving benefits under pandemic-related programs that have been slightly offset by those with extended benefits.
While unemployment continues to rise, the Biden government is working on a plan to push through additional stimulus controls to Americans, as well as increased compensation.
Last week’s drop in claims was largely due to a decline of more than 55,000 in Illinois, although much of the drop was offset by a profit of more than 46,000 in California, according to unadjusted numbers.
The report comes ahead of Friday’s release of the non-farming salaries for January. The Dow Jones’ estimate for the total is 50,000, with the unemployment rate remaining at 6.7%.
Although the recovery of labor is still far away, there have been encouraging signs lately. ISM reports on manufacturing and services both indicated that companies were adding workers, while ADP’s private payroll, released on Wednesday, showed better-than-expected growth of 174,000.
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