The Briefing Room
General Category => Economy/Business => Topic started by: mystery-ak on February 18, 2021, 02:32:34 pm
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Jobless claims surge to 861,000
By Niv Elis - 02/18/21 08:38 AM EST
Initial Jobless Claims surged to a seasonally adjusted 861,000 in the second week of February, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department, a sign that the labor market continues to struggle to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data for recent weeks, which showed claims dipping below 800,000 for the first time in weeks, has regularly been revised upward. Last week's 793,000 figure was revised upward by 55,000, reaching 848,000.
Weekly jobless claims remain similar to their August levels, having left behind the slight improvement seen in October and November, and briefly in January.
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The latest data comes as Congress pushes to advance a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, including an extension for emergency unemployment benefits that are set to run out after March 14.
An additional 516,299 people filed initial claims through Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, one of the expiring programs that extend jobless benefits to the self-employed and gig economy workers.
That brings the total number of unadjusted initial claims above 1.3 million.
more
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/539358-jobless-claims-surge-to-861000
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Honestly, this was unexpected. COVID-19 cases are dropping rapidly, and conventional financial wisdom says that business should be prepping and ramping up for some improved normalcy, and drawing the best from the employment pool.
IMO, this is harbringer of the impact of a Biden/Dim congressional controlled economy, After the next stimulus, watch for a significant uptick in inflationary pressures.
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Honestly, this was unexpected. COVID-19 cases are dropping rapidly, and conventional financial wisdom says that business should be prepping and ramping up for some improved normalcy, and drawing the best from the employment pool.
IMO, this is harbringer of the impact of a Biden/Dim congressional controlled economy, After the next stimulus, watch for a significant uptick in inflationary pressures.
Yup.
Jobless claims unexpectedly spikes: Another 861,000 Americans filed new unemployment claims
Yahoo Finance, Feb 18, 2021
Weekly unemployment claims unexpectedly surged last week, rising above 800,000 as the labor market recovery stalled.
The Department of Labor released its weekly report on new jobless claims Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here were the main metrics from the report, compared to consensus data compiled by Bloomberg:
* Initial jobless claims, week ended February 13: 861,000 vs. 773,000 expected and an upwardly revised 848,000 during prior week
* Continuing claims, week ended February 6: 4.494 million vs. 4.425 million expected and an upwardly revised 4.558 million during prior week
At 861,000, new jobless claims posted a surprise back-to-back weekly increase to reach the highest level in one month. The prior week's new claims were also upwardly revised to 848,000, from the 793,000 reported previously.
The four week moving average for new claims ticked down slightly by 3,500 to 833,250, as claims steadied at an elevated level after a December and January surge. And new weekly claims remain multiples above their levels from before the pandemic, when claims were coming in at an average of just over 200,000 per week.
More: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/weekly-jobless-claims-week-ended-february-13-labor-market-190229296.html
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"Weekly unemployment claims unexpectedly surged last week..."
Hmmmm....
"unexpectedly..." ??
Seems like we've seen that term used before...