Jobless Claims rise but hover near pandemic low, GDP revised up to 6.6 percent

The number of Americans filing new jobless claims increased slightly but hover around the pandemic-era low last week amid an increase in delta variant cases of COVID-19in the country.

The Labor Department said Thursday that unemployment claims increased to 353,000 last week, up from 348,000 the previous week, the lowest number of claims since the pandemic began in the United States in March 2020.

Last week, the four-week moving average, which smooths down frequently erratic data, plummeted to 366,500, a new pandemic low.

The last time claims were this low was March 14, 2020, shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, which plunged the United States into its worst but briefest recession on record.

According to the government's second estimate of GDP growth for the April-June quarter, GDP rose at a 6.6 percent annualized pace. This was an increase from the 6.5 percent expansion rate recorded in July.

Consistent bottlenecks in the supply chain are also generating shortages of items such as automobiles and various home appliances, reducing retail sales.

For the week ending August 7, the total number of continuing weeks claimed for benefits in all programs was 12 million, an increase of 182,165 from the previous week. In the corresponding week in 2020, there were 27 million weekly claims for benefits in all categories.

The most recent claims figures are consistent with other data that reflect a robust labor market. According to the Labor Department, employers created 943,000 positions in July, the most in 11 months and job vacancies hit a record high at the end of June. 

There are some signs, however, that the economic boom is slowing. According to the Commerce Department, retail sales decreased 1.1 percent in July compared to June while the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment poll dipped considerably in the first part of August, as many respondents expressed worries about the Delta variant.

Picture Credits: AP