The Number Of Americans On Jobless Benefits Rose Last Week, Despite Initial Claims Drop

The number of Americans filing for first-time jobless benefits last week fell to 684k – the first drop below 700k since the start of the pandemic as Texas chaos filters out of the data.

Source: Bloomberg

However, some context shows we are still dramatically above pre-COVID norms…

Source: Bloomberg

Pandemic emergency claims rose to a new record, even as the ‘normal’ continuing claims dropped back below 4mm…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, we note the total number of Americans claiming some form of unemployment benefit disappointingly rose last week, back above 19 million…

Source: Bloomberg

Get back to work Mr. Powell.