It appears that the US labour market may be beginning to show signs of improvement, as weekly initial jobless claims are finally under 1 million for the week ending on August 8.
According to data released by the US Department of Labour, a total 963,000 initial jobless claims were filed last week, which is below the 1.1 million that was initially anticipated by economists polled by Dow Jones. The latest data shows a drop of 228,000 from the previous week of August 1, after 20 consecutive weeks of claims topping 1 million. This suggests that the labour market in the US is starting to lose some of its volatility; however, pre-pandemic employment levels are still very far from reach.
The number of continuing claims currently totals almost 15.5 million, which is a slight decline of 604,000 from the week prior. According to Jefferies, the drop in claims is partly due to the expiration of the $600 weekly top-up – once the additional benefits ended on July 31, Americans were no longer incentivized to stay at home even though work was available. The number of people collecting unemployment benefits declined by over 3 million to a total of 28.26 million, which further attests to the declining trend in joblessness.
Information for this briefing was found via the US Department of Labour. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
