The number of new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ending June 26. However, the increase was only moderate, and the number of Americans already receiving unemployment benefits decreased on the contrary.
The US labour market posted contradictory results in the last week of June. On the one hand, the number of new claims for unemployment benefits rose to 373 thousand (about 2 thousand more than the previous week), on the other hand, there was a decrease in the number of unemployed Americans who have been receiving benefits for some time. And that’s by 145k. In total, there were half a million fewer in June than at the end of May.
But in the number of new applications, the result is about 20k worse than analysts approached by Reuters expected. The total number of claims for unemployment benefits is still about 200 to 250k higher than it would match the balance of the labour market, according to experts.
A fairly volatile development is expected for this indicator in the coming weeks. In the 25 states of the US, which have a largely Republican governor, the end of emergency programs to support the unemployed, funded by the federal government, is poised. Some economists are convinced that this could help the labor market as motivation for finding work increases in people.
