From 21 to 27 November, 222,000 people registered as unemployed to receive an allowance, against 194,000 registrations the previous week, the lowest since 1969.
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New weekly jobless claims in the United States rebounded last week after plunging, but remain close to their pre-pandemic level.
From November 21 to 27, 222,000 people registered as unemployed to receive an allowance, according to data released Thursday by the Department of Labor.
New applications had fallen to their lowest since 1969 the previous week with 194,000 registrations, according to downgraded data.
Analysts expected a larger increase for the past week, counting on 255,000 registrations.
President Joe Biden also welcomed in a statement that new demands remain relatively low, “further proof of the strength of the historic economic recovery of the United States and the return to work of the Americans.”
“New requests are now down more than 70% since I became president and all weekly registrations are now down 16% compared to the same period,” insisted the tenant of the White House.
The total number of aid recipients, which is calculated two weeks late, was 2.306 million people on November 13, a slight increase from the previous week.
For Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics, the significant variations observed in recent weeks can be explained in large part by seasonal adjustments linked to the holiday season, conducive to sudden movements in the labor market.
“Once the dust settles, we expect registrations to remain below their lowest levels reached during the previous cycle, around 210,000,” said the economist.
Many analysts believe that the participation rate in the US labor market will increase in the coming weeks as many companies need well-staffed workforces to deal with shortages and supply chain disruptions.
However, warns Rubeela Farooqi of HFE, “the return of health concerns poses a risk that could prevent many people from returning to the labor market in the coming months”.
On Friday, the Labor Department will release US employment and unemployment rate figures for November.
Analysts predict 525,000 job creations with an unemployment rate down slightly to 4.5% from 4.6% in October.
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