US weekly jobless claims decline again, hitting new pandemic low
WASHINGTON: New filings for US unemployment benefits declined again last week, hiting their lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic began, the labour Department said on Thursday.
The 547,000 new seasonally adjusted filings reported in the week ended April 17 were beter than analysts expected and 39,000 fewer than the previous week’s upwardly revised figure, and came as vaccination campaigns offer hope for a return to normalcy in the world’s largest economy.
Another 133,319 people, not seasonally adjusted, made new claims under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance programme for freelancers and those not normally eligible for aid, only slightly more than the week prior.
The data was the second straight week that regular jobless claims declined ater last week’s drop of 156,000, which was the strongest indication yet that relief from the surge in unemployment caused by the pandemic may finally be here.
“This dip in jobless claims looks good in isolation but what really maters is that it confirms that last week’s unexpected plunge was no fluke,” Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics said.
“We expect further declines over the next few months as the reopening continues, while payroll growth will accelerate markedly.” The data showed the four-week moving average of regular claims hiting its lowest point since the pandemic at 651,000.
The insured unemployment rate, indicating people actually receiving aid, was 2.6 per cent for the week ended April 10, with more than 3.6 million receiving regular benefits.
Nonetheless, the report was a reminder of the widespread joblessness caused by business restrictions meant to stop coronavirus transmission, with more than 17.4 million people, not seasonally adjusted, receiving unemployment aid nationwide as of the week ended April 3.
Rubeela Farooqi of High Frequency Economics agreed that the latest data show the trend in new filings decisively heading down.
“While exposure to the virus likely remains a concern for workers, we expect to see a further decline in filings as the reopening continues and job growth accelerates over coming months,” she said in a note.
US airlines recovery: US carriers American Airlines and Southwest Airlines on Thursday signaled a slower cash burn and pointed to a rebound in summer bookings as accelerated COVID-19 vaccinations make more people confident about travelling again.
Ater nearly a year in the doldrums due to the pandemic and accompanying travel restrictions, airlines are seeing light at the end of the tunnel with over 50% of the US population having received one dose of the vaccine.
“March was clearly a significant improvement over January and February and guidance is for continued improvement into the June quarter and the summer beyond it,” Cowen and Co analyst Helane Becker said.
“The airlines are turning their attention to paying down some of the debt they took on to get through the pandemic which is encouraging.” Southwest forecast secondquarter average daily core cash burn between $ 2 million and $ 4 million, compared with about $ 13 million per day in the previous three months.