WASHINGTON: The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits rose last week, likely as new business restrictions to control spiralling COVID-19 infections unleashed a fresh wave of layoffs, which could further slow the labour market recovery.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted 742,000 for the week ended Nov 14. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 707,000 applications for the latest week.Unadjusted claims rose 18,344 to 743,460 last week. Economists prefer the unadjusted number because of earlier difficulties adjusting the claims data for seasonal fluctuations due to the economic shock caused by the pandemic.
"With more localised restrictions and signs of households hunkering down the past couple of weeks, we expect initial filings to stay elevated," said Sarah House, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina. US stocks were mixed. The dollar rose against a basket of currencies. US Treasury prices were higher.Unemployment claims dropped from a record 6.867 million in March as about 80 per cent of the people temporarily laid off in March and April were rehired, accounting for most of the rebound in job growth over the last six months.