US jobless claims reach highest level since 2021; productivity improves
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The news: Recurring job applications, a proxy for the number of US people receiving benefits, climbed to its highest reading since November 2021.
The numbers: The US Labor Department said that continuing claims rose by 38,000 to 1.97 million in the week ending 26 July, according to data released Thursday.
The context: While the elevated figures suggest that unemployed US workers are struggling to find new work, new jobless claims have largely remained subdued throughout the year. Initial jobless claims rose to 226,000 last week, above expectations.
Investors are alert to signals that the labour market could be deteriorating further after the government’s July job report showed a slowdown in job creation. President Donald Trump used the revised July jobs data as an excuse to fire the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics late last week, arguing that the data was “totally rigged” because of the downward revisions.
Meanwhile, US labour productivity rebounded in Q2, with figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday showing that productivity increased at a 2.4% annualised rate after falling a revised 1.8% during Q1.
The sources: US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
