Last week, some Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits. This happened just as the labour market recovery from the coronavirus gained a grip in a resurrecting economy.
However, a shortage of enthusiastic workers could delay faster job growth in the near term.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 7,000 a seasonally adjusted 411,000 for the week ended June 19, the Labour Department said on Thursday.
Bids amplified in the previous week for the first time since late April.
The economists assigned the rise to instability as the outcome of the May 31 Memorial Day holiday.
“Imprecise seasonal factors around Memorial Day holiday weekend likely contributed to the uptick in initial claims, so the rise should prove temporary,”- economists at Bank of America Securities in New York wrote in a note.
There were almost 380,000 applications for the latest week. Also, a drop in claims from a record 6.149 million in early April 2020.
Still, they continued to be above the 200,000-250,000 range that is seen as consistent with a healthy labour market.
About 150 million Americans are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Thus, the U.S. economy could start reopening.
But millions of workers remain at home, frustrating employers who are desperately seeking help to meet surging demand as people leave their homes after being cooped up for more than a year.
There are a record 9.8 million job openings. The lack of childcare facilities is keeping some parents, mostly women, outside the labour force.
Substantial government-funded unemployment benefits, including a $300 weekly check, have also been blamed, as well as indecision to return to work out of fear of contracting the virus.
Pandemic-related retirements and transitions into new careers are also factors.
Four states, including Iowa and Alaska, either ended all federal government-funded benefits or just the $300 supplement on June 12.
Eight other states, including Alabama and West Virginia, also joined the above-mentioned states last Saturday.
Further, thirteen states with Republican governors, including Texas and Florida, will end these benefits for residents between June 26 and July 10.
Louisiana would end the weekly supplementary check on July 31. Hence, it will be the only state with a Democratic governor to terminate federal benefits.
As for the rest of the country, they will lapse on September 6.
