Washington — The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits rose again last week, suggesting that a rapid rise in new Covid-19 infections and business restrictions were causing more layoffs and undermining the labour market recovery.
“There is a two-tier recovery from the pandemic recession where the top of society continues to spend as normal while the bottom-half of the country sits in long lines at food banks with the opportunities for employment few and far between,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York. Unadjusted claims jumped 78,372 to 827,710 last week. Economists prefer the unadjusted number because of earlier difficulties adjusting the claims data for seasonal fluctuations due to the economic shock caused by the pandemic.
The respiratory illness has killed more than 257,000 Americans and hospitalisations are soaring, prompting state and local governments to reimpose a host of restrictions on social and economic life in recent weeks, which could keep claims above their 665,000 peak seen during the 2007-2009 recession.
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