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Jobless claims rise slightly for the week ended September 18

By Yashasvini on Sep 24, 2021 | 03:34 AM IST

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  • KEY POINTS - 
  • Initial jobless claims rose to 3,51,000 last week, rising by 16,000 compared to a week before
  • Insured jobless claims fell to 2.8 million as compared to last week
  • The total number of those receiving benefits fell due to the cessation of the unemployment claims program

New claims for unemployment in the U.S. rose as the U.S. Labor Market published its Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims report.

First-time unemployment claims were recorded as 351,000, for the week ended September 18, increasing by 16,000 a week before and greater than the 320,000 Dow Jones estimate.

The total number of initial jobless claims for the week ended September 18 was the highest since the week of August 21. The reading for the previous week was revised upward to 335,000 claims.

The 4-week moving average was 2,804,000, a decrease of 15,750 from the previous week's revised average. That number was 1.73 million before the pandemic and 12.6 million a year ago. This is the lowest level for this average since March 21, 2020, when it was 2,071,750.

Thursday’s report showed that the number of insured unemployment claims during the week ending September 11 was 2,845,000, an increase of 131,000 from the previous week's revised level. 

Unemployment benefit claims have fallen steadily since mid-July as employers are retaining workers despite the Delta variant, to counter the rise in demand due to the reopening of the economy. 

The recent increase in COVID-19 cases has contributed to a slowdown in hiring during August, but the initial claims show that employers aren’t laying off workers.

About half of U.S. states had opted to end their participation in the enhanced federal unemployment benefits earlier this summer, while the rest continued to offer the benefits through September 6. Any potential impact from the cessation of the benefits programs wouldn’t be visible until next week’s report, at the earliest, since the data are reported with a lag.

Picture Credits: AP

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