Despite historic levels of joblessness, the labor market is slowly recovering from months of shutdowns.
Around 1.3 million people filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week, the 14th straight week of declines, according to new figures from the Department of Labor.
Thursday’s data is further indication that despite historic levels of joblessness, the labor market is slowly recovering from months of shutdowns put in place to halt the spread of the coronavirus. More than 48 million people have now filed for unemployment benefits for the first time in the past 16 weeks.
Continuing claims data, which captures the number of people collecting ongoing benefits, fell sharply to just over 18 million, down by almost 700,000. Continue reading.