MORNINGSTAR — New applications for unemployment benefits have held persistently at high levels in recent weeks, suggesting layoffs remain elevated as the coronavirus pandemic continues and the labor market’s momentum is easing.
Initial claims for jobless benefits have held roughly steady at more than 1.3 million a week since late June, according to the Labor Department. That halted what had been a swift decline from a peak of 6.9 million in late March, when the pandemic and business closures shut down parts of the U.S. economy. The level recorded in recent weeks remains well above the highest on record before this year, which was 695,000 in 1982.
Similarly, the number of workers receiving unemployment benefits through regular state programs — which covers the vast majority of workers — has plateaued near 17 million in recent weeks. The stable number suggests that new hires and recalls of workers are offsetting layoffs, but no longer significantly pushing down the number on jobless assistance.
“The labor market is still in very unsure territory,” said Monica Garcia-Perez, a labor economist at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.
Read more: Persistently high unemployment claims point to slowing jobs market
