Unemployment insurance claims fell below $ 1 million last week for the first time since March 21 in a sign that the labor market is continuing its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The total claims of 963,000 for the week ended August 8 were well below the estimate of 1.1 million of economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
Unemployed claims had plummeted to over $ 1 million in total over 20 million weeks as the U.S. economy went into lockdown to contain Covid-19. The last time the total was below that number was March 14, with 282,000, just when the pandemic statement first struck.
While reading sub-1 million marks a milestone, there is still a lot of work to be done for the job market to return to normal. Those collecting benefits for at least two weeks, known as ongoing claims, totaled nearly 15.5 million, a decrease of 604,000 from a week ago, but still well above pre-pandemic levels.
Markets cut losses after the report, with Wall Street now indicating that a flat is open for equities.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits fell sharply before the week ended July 25, more than 3 million to 28.26 million, also pointing to a declining trend in unemployment. A year ago, that number was 1.7 million.
Those who received benefits under the Pandemic Assistance Program totaled 488,622, down 167,377 from a week ago. The program offers compensation to those who are not normally eligible for benefits such as independent contractors.
At the state level, the largest declines came in claims from Florida (-23,180), New York (-21.905) and Texas (-11.233), according to figures not adjusted for seasonal territory. The total non-adjusted total was 831,856, a decrease of 156,453. Some economists say that the unadjusted number is more relevant because the current circumstances surrounding the pandemic are not subject to season.
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