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Initial filings for jobless claims come in slightly below expectations at 238,000 as companies struggle to overcome the impact of the Omicron spread.
Source: US Department of Labor
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Claims for the week ended January 29 stood at 238,000, slightly lower than the 245,000 Dow Jones estimate. That figure was a drop from the prior week’s upwardly revised 261,000.
The unemployment claims report ends a tough January whereby millions of Americans lost work due to the Omicron variant impact.
Claims came higher after temporarily falling below 200,000 in early December and recording their lowest total in over 50 years.
Continuing claims, which ran a week behind the core number, signaled a massive drop, falling 44,000 to 1.63 million. The four-week moving average for claims dropped to 1.62 million, the lowest level since August 1973.
The total of people receiving benefits under all programs dropped to 2.07 million, a fall of 73,205. That compares with 18.5 million from a year earlier and has fallen significantly as extended benefits have ended for the unemployed.
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