Jobless claims rise again after declining to lowest level during the pandemic

(Image credit: ALEX EDELMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

published 1 April 2021

The number of Americans filing new jobless claims has ticked back up after previously declining to the lowest level since the pandemic began.

The Labor Department said Thursday that 719,000 more Americans filed new jobless claims last week, up 61,000 claims from the revised level of the previous week. This number came in above expectations, as economists were predicting there would be around 675,000 new claims, CNBC reports.

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But the Labor Department also said Thursday the four-week moving average of jobless claims declined to 719,000, the lowest level since March 14, 2020. Capital Economics economist Michael Pearce told The Wall Street Journal the "recovery is beginning to accelerate, particularly in the labor market," and Pantheon Macroeconomics chief economist Ian Shepherdson said that "taking the two weeks together it's clear that the trend in claims is falling," per CNBC. Still, Bloomberg wrote that Thursday's unexpected rise "underscores the choppy nature of the labor market recovery."

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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