The number of Americans submitting new claims for unemployment benefits was reported to be down last week as the labor market is still struggling to maintain momentum.
Preliminary claims for U.S. national unemployment benefits only recorded a fall of 26,000 to 360,000 total claims for the week ended July 10, based on data released by the Department of Labor on Thursday. This reading is also in line with the expectations of economists.
Claims readings have lately faced the challenge of making a deeper decline since dropping below 400,000 at the end of May.
The early termination of the program and a weekly incentive of $ 300, has prompted Americans to remain unemployed and live at home. The U.S. economy is currently experiencing a labor shortage with about 9.5 million Americans still unemployed.
Although at least 160 million Americans are fully immunized against COVID-19, some parts of the United States with low vaccination rates are experiencing a surge in infections from the Delta variant of Covid-19. This can indirectly slow down the recovery.
Claims have dropped from a record 6,149 million in early April 2020. However, such claims remain above the 200,000-250,000 range seen in line with a healthy labor market.
