US jobless claims lowest since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic
According to data from the US Labor Department, jobless claims dropped to 268,000 in the week ending November 13. This is the seventh consecutive week of deceleration in jobless claims but it is to be noted that the moderation has been marginal since the week ending October 9, indicating that the jobs market might be entering a stable state. For the week ending November 6, initial jobless claims were just 1,000 higher, at 269,000. While this is the lowest level of jobless new jobless claims since the start of the pandemic, it remains above the average pre-COVID figures. The peak of jobless claims in 2021 happened in January, when they amounted to 904,000 but have since declined by more than three times.
As of November 6, the continued jobless claims in the US are 2.08mn, a decline from 2.21mn a week earlier. The insured unemployment rate dropped to 1.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The US government ended its unemployment insurance supplement scheme in September 2021.
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Further data and analysis on the US economy are available on the CEIC US Economy in a Snapshot – Q4 2021 report.