Weekly unemployment claims came in slightly less than expected last week, although US employment growth remains sluggish.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance totaled 779,000 for the week ending Jan. 30, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was less than the estimate of 830,000 economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
This was the lowest week for claims since Nov. 28 as the US economy is slowly recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The total represented a decrease of 33,000 from the previous week’s down-revised count of 812,000.
Persistent claims also continued to decline, falling 193,000 from the previous reporting week to 4.6 million. The pandemic-era peak for persistent claims was 24.9 million in early May 2020. Data on persistent claims is a week behind initial claims.
In addition, the total of benefit recipients fell sharply, by nearly half a million to 17.8 million. That reflects a continued decline in the number of people receiving benefits under pandemic-related programs somewhat offset by those on extended benefits.
With unemployment still high, the Biden administration is working on a plan to implement additional stimulus controls for Americans, as well as improved compensation.
The drop in claims last week was largely due to a drop of more than 55,000 in Illinois, though much of that drop was offset by gains of more than 46,000 in California, according to unadjusted figures.
The report comes ahead of the release of the number of nonfarm payrolls for January in the labor department on Friday. The Dow Jones estimate for that total is 50,000, while the unemployment rate remains stable at 6.7%.
While recovery is still a long way off, there have been some encouraging signs of late. ISM reports on manufacturing and services both indicated that companies are adding employees, while ADP’s private payroll showed better-than-expected growth of 174,000 on Wednesday.
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