U.S. Jobless Claims Held Nearly Steady at 1.3 Million in July 11 Week

New applications for unemployment benefits held nearly steady last week after a period of larger declines, a sign an increased number of Covid-19 cases in some states and related restrictions on businesses is causing the labor market’s healing to stall.

Initial unemployment claims fell by a seasonally adjusted 10,000 to 1.3 million for the week ended July 11, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

That narrowly extends a trend of declines from a peak of 6.9 million in late March, when the coronavirus pandemic and mandated business closures shut down swaths of the U.S. economy. Last week’s level was well above the highest week on record before this year, which was 695,000 in 1982.

New applications for jobless benefits
The number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits fell by 422,000 to 17.3 million for the week ended July 4, the lowest reading since the week ended April 11. Those so-called continuing claims are reported with a week lag.

The modest easing of the number of unemployment rolls suggests new layoffs are being offset by hiring and recalling of workers. Employers added a combined 7.5 million jobs in May and June after shedding 21 million jobs in March and April, separate Labor Department data showed.

“After an initial period of sharp, but partial rebound as the economy reopens, the remainder of the process is going to be prolonged,” Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at consulting firm Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc., wrote in a note to clients. “And that the road back to February’s peak employment levels will be a long and bumpy one.”