Thursday, 11 Feb 2021 11:16 PM MYT
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totalled a seasonally adjusted 793,000 for the week ended February 6, compared to 812,000 in the prior week, the Labour Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 757,000 applications for the latest week. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged on Wednesday that the “improvement in labour market conditions stalled” in the past few months because of a resurgence in coronavirus infections, which weighed heavily on restaurants and other consumer-facing businesses.
But there is cause for cautious optimism. Reported new coronavirus cases in the United States dropped 25 per cent last week, the biggest fall since the pandemic hit the nation. Infections have now fallen for four consecutive weeks, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports.