Labor Dept: Unemployment Applications Top Pre-Pandemic Levels

New unemployment applications climbed last week above the pre-pandemic average for the first time since January, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday (June 9).

Initial jobless claims rose by 27,000 to 229,000 last year after weeks at or below the 2019 average of 218,000.

The rise in claims could be due to seasonal factors being disrupted by the pandemic, Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon, said in a Wall Street Journal report Thursday.

While “anecdotal reports of increased layoffs” indicate claims may increase, “we expect the numbers to remain low by historical standards,” he said.

Memorial Day shortened the number of workdays, and claims figures can be more volatile close to holidays, the Journal noted.

Although the labor market is still strong, worries about an economic slowdown could lead to layoffs as employers prepare for tougher times, Giacomo Santangelo, an economist at jobs site Monster, told the Journal.

“When you hear there’s a tropical depression, there’s a chance there’s going to be a hurricane, so you go out and you start preparing,” he said. “Companies are going to start getting ready for a potential hurricane that’s coming.”

This spring has seen a number of companies either suspend hiring or cut staff. Twitter, Apple and Snap have all said they would put filling certain jobs on hold.

Read more: Leisure, Hospitality Post Job Gains as Unemployment Holds Steady

Figures released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that payrolls grew the most in leisure and hospitality in May, a sign of a shift in consumer demand from goods to services as the world continues its post-pandemic reopening.

There were also job gains were also posted in the professional and business services sectors, according to the latest report from the bureau.

Their figures showed the U.S. economy adding 390,000 jobs at a solid pace last month, part of the labor market’s long stretch of gains in recent months. The unemployment rate held at 3.6%, a bit above the pre-pandemic figures from February 2020.