Initial Jobless Claims hit their lowest level since April, as 213,000 people filed for unemployment benefits for the first time. This reflects a decline of 6,000 from the previous week. However, Continuing Claims were a different story, as they surged by 36,000 to top 1.9 million for the first time in three years.
What’s the bottom line? While new unemployment filings were at seven-month lows, the elevated number of Continuing Jobless Claims shows that it’s taking longer for people to find jobs. And with many people only receiving benefits for 26 weeks, the fact that Continuing Claims are rising as people’s benefits are expiring also suggests weakness and a slower pace of hiring.