- US jobless claims unexpectedly fell to 547,000 last week, hitting a new pandemic-era low.
- Economists anticipated a reading of 610,000 claims. The previous week's sum was revised higher to 586,000.
- Continuing claims slid to 3.67 million for the week that ended April 10.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as hiring picked up amid the reopening of the economy.
New US jobless claims reached an unadjusted 547,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday morning. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected a jump to 610,000 claims that week. The reading marks a second straight decline and places claims at their lowest level since March 2020.
The previous week's reading was revised slightly higher to 586,000.
"This dip in jobless claims looks good in isolation but what really matters is that it confirms that last week's unexpected plunge was no fluke," Ian Shepherson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a note. "One sharp drop in these numbers can always just be due to noise, but the further decline in today's report indicates that layoffs are falling quickly."
Continuing claims, which track Americans currently receiving unemployment benefits, fell to 3.67 million for the week that ended April 10, according to the Labor Department. That comes in above the median estimate of 3.64 million claims.
Claims only recently resumed their downward trend and breached the 600,000 level. Weekly counts held at about 700,000 through the winter and into spring as lockdown measures hindered some hiring. Now, with warmer weather, vaccination, and stimulus fueling a swift reopening, the labor market is back on the recovery track.
Still, some 85 million filings have been made since the coronavirus roiled the US economy in March 2020. That's easily double the 37 million claims filed during the Great Recession. And although claims sit well below their pandemic-era highs, they're still more than double levels seen before the health crisis.
The trend, for now, is encouraging. Retail sales surged nearly 10% in March to a record high, the Census Bureau said last week. The increase blew estimates out of the water and signaled stimulus passed by Democrats last month quickly translated to stronger spending.
That boost stands to further aid the labor market's rebound. Increased spending incentivizes hiring as businesses try to keep up with growing demand. Faster hiring then gives more Americans steady incomes and lifts their buying power, starting the cycle all over again.
But downside risks remain. Daily coronavirus case counts have crept higher in recent weeks as new strains spread across the US. The rate of vaccination has also slowed since use of Johnson & Johnson's shot was paused last week. With the US far from reaching herd immunity, the path of the virus could still throw a wrench in the burgeoning recovery.
