Uptick in jobless

But 4-week average still on the decline

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits unexpectedly jumped above the pre-coronavirus record once again last week, the feds said Thursday.

The 719,000 initial jobless claims came just a week after new filings reached their lowest level since the devastating COVID-19 crisis started about a year ago.

While the latest figure came in higher than the prepandemic high of 695,000 and exceeded economists’ expectations for 680,000, experts say it’s not cause for concern given that the fourweek moving average continued its steady decline.

“Despite the weekly volatility, layoffs are on a downtrend as vaccination progress enables broader economic reopening,” Bloomberg economist Eliza Winger said. “Sectors hit hardest during the pandemic will dominate job growth over the next several months.”

Initial claims, traditionally a proxy for layoffs, have dropped in fits and starts over the past three months as vaccines made their way into Americans’ arms and states eased lockdowns imposed to stem the deadly winter surge of the virus.

Despite the encouraging downward moves, US Department of Labor figures show massive numbers of Americans continuing to rely on jobless benefits — including the federal programs that last month’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package extended.

Workers claimed 18.2 million weeks’ worth of state and federal jobless aid in the week ending March 13, with pandemic-relief benefits accounting for 13 million, Thursday’s figures show.

Revisions to data show workers have filed nearly 78.3 million initial claims since the pandemic began.

More good news could come out of Friday’s jobs report for March, which is expected to show nonfarm payrolls adding 635,000 jobs — a bump from February’s 379,000, according to Wrightson ICAP.

“There’s a very good chance in the coming months that the recovery . . . will be better than expected given pent-up demand and substantial savings held by many individuals with improving consumer confidence,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.