U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Drop for Third Week in a Row

Bloomberg

Published Aug 12, 2021 08:32AM ET

U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Drop for Third Week in a Row

(Bloomberg) -- Applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits dropped for the third week in a row, another incremental highlight in the labor market’s recovery.

Initial unemployment claims in regular state programs totaled 375,000 in the period ended Aug. 7, down 12,000 from the prior week, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 375,000 new applications.

Continuing claims for state benefits fell to 2.9 million in the week ended July 31.

Jobless claims have been largely falling this year as a pickup in economic activity strengthens business conditions and leads to a record number of job openings. While initial claims are broadly expected to continue declining in the coming months, the spreading delta variant poses a risk to the pace of recovery.

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