SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 – INITIAL JOBLESS CLAIMS FALL TO LOWEST SINCE FEBRUARY 2020
Initial US jobless claims fell to a pandemic era low last week coming at 310,000. The four-week average at 339,500 is also a pandemic low. This is good news, as it means employers are not laying off workers in light of the delta variant taking off across the country. Even at this lower level, jobless claims are still tracking 100,000 ahead of the pre-pandemic trend. The US economy has 5.3 million fewer jobs than it did in February 2020.
It seems employers are holding onto their workers as uncertainty rises as a result of the difficulty in hiring the economy is experiencing. A healthy demand for employees is a bright note, it shows the labor market is still on track for a recovery. The unemployment rate is one of the two key indicators the Fed is tracking before making any adjustments to their easy money policy.