US jobless claims hit record low, ranks of unemployed shrinking

The labour market’s prospects were boosted by other data showing a measure of manufacturing employment in the mid-Atlantic region rose to a record high this month and factories increased hours for workers

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a 17-month low last week, pointing to another month of robust job growth, though surging COVID-19 infections pose a risk to the labor market recovery.

The weekly unemployment claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday, the most timely data on the economy’s health, also showed the number of people on state jobless rolls dropped in early August to levels last seen in mid-March 2020, when the economy almost ground to a halt amid mandatory business closures aimed at slowing the first wave of COVID-19 cases.

The labor market’s prospects were boosted by other data showing a measure of manufacturing employment in the mid-Atlantic region rose to a record high this month and factories increased hours for workers. But the pace of growth in factory output slowed for a fourth straight month amid scarce raw materials and a shit in spending to services from goods.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000 for the week ended Aug. 14. The fourth straight weekly decline pushed claims to their lowest level since mid-March 2020. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 363,000 applications for the latest week.