Initial Jobless Claims inched down another 2,000 in the latest week to a 7-month low, with 213,000 people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time. However, Continuing Claims rose by 9,000 as 1.907 million people are still receiving benefits after filing their initial claim.
What’s the bottom line? While the low level of Initial Claims shows that businesses still aren’t cutting many jobs, the rising number of people remaining on benefits suggests that jobs have become harder to find for people who are unemployed. This elevated trend in Continuing Claims has been persistent, as they have topped 1.8 million since the start of June (25 consecutiveweeks).