The number of Americans submitting new claims for unemployment benefits posted a good reading with performance declining last week to a nearly 18 -month low. This leads to the indication that job growth is being hampered by a shortage of manpower rather than a lack of demand for workers.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits were 310,000, down 35,000 for the week ended Sept. 4 based on a report released by the Department of Labor on Thursday. This reading is also less than the survey of economists who targeted a total claims of only 335,000.
This reading is the lowest level since mid-March 2020 when mandatory non-requirement business closures were implemented as a measure to curb the spread of Covid-19.
A year ago, the country had recorded nearly 1.5 million new claims a week following the closure of economic sectors. However, with the increase in more widespread vaccinations and the sharp decline in cases of Covid-19 infection has led to an increase in employment.
This unemployment claims report is an indication to measure the state of the economy and the labor market.
The market is confident that the labor problem will ease further in September with the reopening of several business and school sectors.
The US dollar traded lower with a 0.07% decline to 92.585.
