Preliminary claims for state employment insurance coverage jumped by greater than 18,000 to over 743,000 final week, earlier than adjusting for seasonal elements, the Labor Division reported Thursday. It was the primary enhance since early October and represented an ominous flip for a labor market that has struggled to get well absolutely from the massive layoffs that accompanied the pandemic’s arrival in March.
“The latest data points to the fragility of the recovery as the Covid crisis worsens,” mentioned Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “If this trend continues, it’s an indication that the labor market recovery has gone into reverse.”
New claims for Pandemic Unemployment Help — a federal program for gig employees, unbiased contractors and the self-employed — totaled 320,000, a rise of 24,000 from the week earlier than.
Though the financial system rebounded strongly within the third quarter and total unemployment fell to a seasonally adjusted price of 6.9 p.c in October, that momentum has light within the absence of recent assist from Washington.
The most recent wave of the outbreak threatens to additional devastate huge employers like airways, restaurant chains and resorts, with the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention urging Individuals on Thursday to keep away from touring for the Thanksgiving vacation. Read more via FinTechZoom