U.S. jobless claims fall to new pandemic low

The number of Americans filing new jobless claims once again plummeted below 400,000 as the U.S. economy rebounds.

The Labor Department reported on Thursday that initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted fell to 376,000 for the week ended June 5, compared to 385,000 the previous week.

Claims continue to outnumber the weekly submissions of little over 200,000 that were recorded before the virus shut down huge sectors of the economy in March. However, they have been progressively declining in recent weeks as growing vaccination rates and relaxing business restrictions stimulate economic growth.

The previous time claims were lower was the week of March 14, 2020, when they were 256,000. The figure rose to almost 3 million the next week and peaked in early April at over 6.1 million when US governments shut down businesses to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Employers created 559,000 jobs in May, falling short of many analysts' forecasts and highlighting employers' challenges filling unfilled positions as potential employees linger on the sidelines.

There are various pieces of evidence that demand for labor is increasing as the economy continues to recover. The Labor Department said Tuesday that there were roughly 1 million more unfilled positions in April, bringing the total to 9.3 million, the highest level since records began in 2000.

In another data released on Thursday, the Labor Department said its consumer price index rose 0.6 % in May after rising 0.8 % in April, the highest increase since June 2009.

The CPI increased by 5.0 % in the year to May. This was the largest year-on-year gain since August 2008, and it came on the heels of a 4.2 % increase in April, Reuters reported. 

While claims appear to be higher than the pre-pandemic average of around 220,000, economists expect it to fall as the recovery accelerates.

Half of the states in the United States including Florida and Texas have declared plans to phase off federal supplementary unemployment benefits starting from Saturday, months before the program expires in early September.