The number of Americans filing for new unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week. This has indirectly raised concerns that the transmission of the Covid-19 pandemic could have a lasting impact on the labor market.
Initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits amounted to 898,000 for the week ending October 10. This reading is much higher than the previous week which only recorded 845,000 and economists expect at 825,000.
Weak labor markets and economic challenges are one of the reasons for the internal political conflict between Trump and Biden ahead of the election. Biden has blamed Trump for mismanaging the Covid-19 crisis.
During the seven-month period during the outbreak in the United States, the total unemployment claim was still far from reaching the peak of the 2007-2009 financial crisis at 665,000. So far about 3.8 million people have lost their jobs permanently in September with 2.4 million unemployed for more than six months.
High unemployment and a resurgence in new Covid-19 cases across the United States have threatened the economic recovery from the economic downturn, since February.
The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against major currencies, still strengthened at the 93.817 exchange rate as of 9.30 p.m.