USA: New applications for unemployment benefits are higher than expected

Initial U.S. jobless claims rose in the last week of 2021 at a faster pace than economists expected, despite broader signs of a better US job market amid the “turmoil” caused by rising coronavirus cases.

In particular, the new applications for unemployment benefits for the week ended January 1, 2022 reached 207,000, increased by 7,000, according to data released by the US Department of Labor. It is noted that a week earlier they had reached 200,000.

Economists in a Reuters poll expected new unemployment benefit applications to be slightly lower, at 197,000.

Unemployment benefit applications usually increase during the holiday season, but this year a severe labor shortage has disrupted the usual seasonal pattern.

It is noted that at the end of November, the vacancies amounted to 10.6 million.

Meanwhile, the number of Americans already receiving unemployment benefits also rose by 36,000 to 1.75 million, according to the US Department of Labor, returning to pre-crisis levels.

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Source From: Capital

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