Weekly Jobless Claims Fall to Pandemic-Era Low After surging to a series high of 6.2 million weekly claims in April 2020, initial filings have fallen steadily, aside from several minor upticks, though they remain well above the pre-pandemic weekly average of around 220,000.

By The Epoch Times

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The number of U.S. workers filing for unemployment fell to a pandemic-era low last week, adding to evidence of continued labor market recovery.

First-time filings for unemployment insurance, a proxy for layoffs, came in at 348,000 for the week ending Aug. 14, a drop of 29,000 from the previous week's revised level of 377,000, the Labor Department said in a statement (pdf).

After surging to a series high of 6.2 million weekly claims in April 2020, initial filings have fallen steadily, aside from several minor upticks, though they remain well above the pre-pandemic weekly average of around 220,000.

"Some much needed good news is found in jobless claims with fresh pandemic lows notched both for new and continuing claims," Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.

Continuing claims, which represent the number of people collecting unemployment benefits after earlier making an initial filing, fell by 79,000 last week to 2.8 million. That's the lowest level since March 14, 2020, when it stood at 1.77 million.

While the unemployment numbers are encouraging, they indicate that the labor market has further to go before making a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels.

"Pointing to continuing challenges, some 11.7 million Americans were receiving some form of unemployment assistance as of the latest snapshot," Hamrick said. "This is a reminder of further healing that's still needed."

Another encouraging sign for the jobs market was the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), released on Aug. 9, which shows that job openings in the United States surged to a record high of 10.1 million in June. However, hiring lagged behind that figure by more than 3 million, painting a picture of an economic recovery being held back by hiring difficulties, especially among small businesses.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) July jobs report found that 49 percent of small business owners reported job openings that couldn't be filled—a 48-year record high.

"Small business owners struggled to find qualified workers for their open positions, which has impaired business activity in the busy summer months," NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg said in a statement. "Owners are raising compensation to the highest levels in 48 years to attract needed employees."

Hiring difficulties have hit smaller business bottom lines especially hard. While large corporations such as Target have recently posted forecast-beating earnings and reported little difficulty attracting talent, a recent survey by Salesforce (pdf) shows that 53.3 percent of small and medium-sized businesses said staffing issues have been a drag on revenues. For those businesses that said hiring woes were pressuring profits, 56.6 percent reported a hit to revenues of at least 11 percent.

While economic output has fully bounced back to its pre-pandemic levels, the employment recovery is trailing. After shedding 22.4 million jobs in the first two months of the pandemic, the U.S. economy has recovered about 15.6 million jobs since May 2020.

By Tom Ozimek

Tom Ozimek has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education. The best writing advice he's ever heard is from Roy Peter Clark: 'Hit your target' and 'leave the best for last.'

The Epoch Times, founded in 2000, is headquartered in Manhattan, New York, with a mission to provide independent and accurate information free of political bias or corporate influence. The organization was established in response to censorship within China and a lack of global awareness regarding the Chinese regime's repression of the spiritual practice Falun Gong.

The Epoch Times is a widely read newspaper that is distributed in 33 countries and is available in 21 languages. The publication has been critical in providing balanced and detailed reporting on major global events such as the 2003 SARS pandemic and the 2008 financial crisis. Notably, the organization has played a key role in exposing corruption inside China.

Aside from its human rights coverage, The Epoch Times has made significant contributions in a variety of fields. It has received praise for its in-depth analysis and expert perspectives on business, the economy and U.S. politics. The newspaper has also received praise for its broad coverage of these topics.

A series of editorials titled "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party" appeared in The Epoch Times in 2004. It asserts that freedom and prosperity in China can only be achieved by eliminating the Communist Party, which violated China's cultural and spiritual values. In addition, the organization led the Tuidang movement, which resulted in over 400 million Chinese citizens quitting the Communist Party. In spite of this, 90% of websites referring to the "Nine Commentaries" were blocked by the Chinese regime.

The Epoch Times has been at the forefront of investigating high-level corruption cases within the Chinese regime, with its reporters taking significant risks to uncover these stories. The organization has received several awards for its investigative journalism.

The organization has received several awards for its investigative journalism. For more, visit www.theepochtimes.com.

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