US weekly jobless claims fell almost 75% for all of 2021, data from the Labor Department showed on Thursday as employment in the world's largest economy continued to progress steadily from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic measures
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th January, 2022) US weekly jobless claims fell almost 75% for all of 2021, data from the Labor Department showed on Thursday as employment in the world's largest economy continued to progress steadily from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic measures.
"In the week ending January 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 207,000," the Labor Department reported in its latest weekly roundup of claims that compared with the 787,000 filings for unemployment benefits in the week to January 2, 2020.
The jobless claims data came ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls report for the month of December from the Labor Department. Economists said they are expecting the upcoming report to show an addition of 424,000 jobs for both the private and government sector last month versus November's gain of 210,000.
Separately, data on Wednesday from payrolls surveyor ADP showed that the 807,000 private sector jobs in December, nearly twice more than predicted by economists.
For the week ended January 1, economists polled by US media had expected jobless claims at around 194,500, putting what the Labor Department some 12,500 above expectations. Based on the previous week's filing of 200,000, the latest number was exactly 7,000 higher.
Yet, economists took note that weekly unemployment statistics had fallen by three quarters since the end of 2020.
"Jobless claims continue to track along low levels above and below the 200K level," economist Greg Michalowski said in a post on ForexLive.
The United States is experiencing one of the greatest transformations of its employment market as the coronavirus pandemic measures upended labor supply and work trends, putting employees' demands above those of employers.
After staggering unemployment initially triggered by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the labor market has steadily picked up this year, showing a jobless rate of 4.2% in November from a high of 14.8% in April 2020. That was just 0.2% above the 4% mark that the Federal Reserves defines as maximum employment in the United States. In terms of total job losses, the number stood at around 20,000 at the height of the pandemic before falling to around 4 million now, officials say.
In a separate report released earlier this week, the Labor Department said the number of Americans quitting their jobs stood at a record high in November.
Analysts say US workers were enjoying some of the greatest opportunities ever as acute labor shortages and post-pandemic shifts enable them to demand higher wages and prioritize child-care and health concerns.
