November 19 US Department of Labor released data showing that in the week ending November 14, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time in the United States was 742,000, which was more than the 707,000 expected by the market.
The number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time in the previous week was revised to 711,000.
Coronavirus pandemic has caused a huge impact on the US labor market. Unemployment was the worst in March and April. With the restart of the US economy, the labor market has improved since May.
However, with the recent slowdown in the job market recovery, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time remains high, consistently higher than the average level before the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic.
At present, although the unemployment rate in the United States has fallen, many economists have pointed out that part of the reason for the decline in the unemployment rate is because the number of people actively looking for work has decreased, and these people have not been included in the calculation of the unemployment rate.
In addition, some people have withdrawn from the labor force due to retirement and other reasons, and some people have lost their jobs due to the pandemic and cannot return to work due to pandemic-related issues, such as the need to care for children at home. The Fed has stated that it will consider these factors in its labor market analysis.
