Jobless claims rise slightly with benefits cliff looming
By Sylvan Lane - 08/26/21 09:07 AM EDT
New applications for jobless benefits rose slightly last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, but declined without seasonal adjustment, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department.
In the week ending Aug. 21, initial claims for unemployment insurance totaled 353,000 after seasonal adjustments, rising 4,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 348,000. The four-week moving average of claims, however, declined by 11,500 to 366,500, the lowest level since March 14, 2020.
Without adjusting for the 15,864-claim decline the Labor Department attributed to seasonal factors, claims totaled 297,765 last week, falling by 11,699.
Even so, claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) rose for the second consecutive week, rising by 9,628 to 117,709. Claims for PUA, a temporary program created for the pandemic, are not seasonally adjusted.
“Claims continue to improve, albeit slowly, despite concerns about Delta,” said Daniel Zhao, senior economist at Glassdoor, on Twitter.
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https://thehill.com/policy/finance/569507-jobless-claims-rise-slightly-with-benefits-cliff-looming
