The number of new jobless claims last week was 1.3 million, the Labor Department reported Thursday, as layoffs appear to level off. The number, which is historically high, has been between 1 million and 2 million since late May.
The number of new claims last week was slightly less than forecasters had projected and down from 1.43 million the week prior.
“This is the sixth straight week that new claims have been stuck between 1 and 2 million, indicating that less momentum is being seen to the downside,” said Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com.
Over the past four weeks, new jobless claims have averaged 1.4 million. A year ago, the corresponding number was 219,000.
During the week ending June 20, 47 states reported over 14 million people claiming Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a category of benefits for people sidelined by the pandemic who would not normally be eligible for unemployment insurance that is scheduled to expire at the end of the month. Democrats in Congress want to extend it, but Senate Republicans oppose the idea. Over 1 million jobless workers claimed this payment for the week that ended on Saturday.
In total, nearly 33 million workers were claiming benefits in the week ending June 20. A year ago, the number was 1.6 million.
Puerto Rico had the country’s highest unemployment rate, 25.4%, for the week ending June 20. Nevada came in second with a 20.8% jobless rate.
Last week’s job losses come on the heels of the Labor Department reporting on July 2 that the economy gained 4.8 million jobs in June, lowering the unemployment rate to 11.1%, down from 13.3% in May. The post-war high of 14.7% was set in April.
June’s job gains were a record and easily beat forecasters’ expectations, but the improvement was uneven among the races. The jobless rate in June for white workers was 10.1%, while the unemployment rates for black, Asian, and Hispanic or Latino workers were much higher: 15.4%, 13.8%, and 14.5%, respectively.
The unemployment rate for teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 was 23.2% in June. During the same month last year, the jobless rate was 15% for the category.
The increase in coronavirus cases could put a damper on job growth, according to Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester. She told CNBC on Tuesday that economic activity is slowing in her region due to a surge in infections.
The nation suffered a record 62,751 cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday as the total number of cases in the United States exceeded 3 million. Nearly 130,000 people in the U.S. have died from the disease.
Hamrick sees these increases as a “roadblock” to states reopening.
“As the COVID-19 outbreak has recently intensified in some states, hopes for an accelerated, sustained, and successful reopening of the economy have hit roadblocks. This raises concern about the economy’s rebound,” he said.
