Economists suggest a state backlog could explain why new unemployment numbers are still so high


Falling unemployment claims might be even lower than they appear.
Around 1.5 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, according to Labor Department numbers released Thursday, narrowly beating economists' expectations of 1.6 million. That's down from 1.8 million the week before, and due to backlogs of unemployment claims still piled up in some states, some economists think the real numbers could be even smaller, Politico reports.
With more than 40 million Americans filing unemployment claims over the past three months, several states have had trouble keeping up. Wisconsin reported a backlog of 100,000 still-unprocessed claims on Wednesday, and Oregon even brought in the National Guard to help file. As of last week, Bloomberg reports that a third of unemployment benefits totaling close to $70 billion have yet to be paid. That backlog could mean many of this week's claims were actually filed a while ago and that the economy is looking a little better than it seems — not that adding to past weeks' exploding jobless numbers is necessarily a good thing.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Still, Adam Ozimek, the chief economist at freelance recruiting business Upwork, thinks the whole total can't be attributed to backlogs. "We are 12 weeks into this," he tweeted, and predictions from another pair of economists continue to accurately predict unemployment totals each week based on Google searches. But Ozimek does note that this "is not a normal labor market," and it's hard to say for certain what's happening because "we don't know what an entire economy frozen for almost three months and then slowly thawed will look like."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
How generative AI is changing the way we write and speak
In The Spotlight ChatGPT and other large language model tools are quietly influencing which words we use
-
How long can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?
Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
Easy Money: the Charles Ponzi Story – an 'enlightening' podcast
The Week Recommends Apple Original podcast explores the 'fascinating' tale of the man who gave the investment scam its name
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores