The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time since April despite widespread evidence that the economy and the job market are rebounding steadily from the pandemic recession.
The Labor Department said this morning that jobless claims rose 37,000 from the week before to 412,000. As the job market has strengthened, the number of weekly applications for unemployment aid has fallen for most of the year. The number of jobless claims generally reflects the pace of layoffs.
Weekly applications for unemployment aid had dropped for six straight weeks, and economists had expected another dip last week. Still, the report showed that the four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 8,000 last week to 395,000—the lowest four-week average since the pandemic slammed the economy in March 2020.
For jobless claims to rise slightly “should not be cause for concern yet,″ says AnnElizabeth Konkel, economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab.
“The big picture is that while we are not back to a ‘normal’ level yet of initial claims, they are no longer astronomically high.″ Read the full report.Â
