Jobless Claims Below 800,000 For Fourth Consecutive Week

Spring weather, loosening COVID-19 restrictions and a fresh round of stimulus helped keep new jobless claims below 800,000 for the fourth week in a row, although numbers inched up a bit from the previous week.

The latest unemployment report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Thursday (March 18) showed that for the week ended March 13, new jobless claims were 770,000, an increase of 45,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 13,000 from 712,000 to 725,000. 

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 6 was 4.124 million, down 18,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 2,000 from 4.144 million to 4.142 million.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending Feb. 27 was 18,216,463, a decrease of 1,902,005 from the previous week. There were 2,087,219 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2020.

“We expect jobless claims to continue to improve as the latest wave of the virus subsides and restrictions are lifted,” Deutsche Bank economist Brett Ryan said in a note, per Yahoo Finance. “These data take on added significance as they correspond to the survey period for March employment, where we expect to see a notable pick up in hiring.”

Forecasts from economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were anticipating new jobless claims to come in at 700,000.

“The economy is on a very solid path,” Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, told the Journal. “Strong consumer spending should be the primary driver not only of growth in the economy but improvement in labor-market conditions in the coming months.”

New jobless claims dipped below 800,000 for the first time during the pandemic on Feb. 21. About 6.867 million jobless claims were filed when COVID-19 took hold in March 2020.