© Reuters By Noreen Burke
Investing.com — The number of Americans applying for initial unemployment benefits fell to last week, but remained at levels indicating that the recovery in the labor market is losing momentum as the coronavirus pandemic lingers.
Economists had forecast a decline to 860,000. The prior week’s figure was revised down to 842,000 from an initially reported 898,000.
The number of continuing claims, which are reported with a one-week lag to initial claims, . The previous week’s figure was revised down to 9.397 million. Continuing claims are falling in part because many people have exhausted their eligibility for regular state benefits.
The Labor Department said that California had completed its pause in processing of initial claims and had resumed reporting reporting new claims as part of the national total. The report reflected the count for California for the current week and revisions to the two previous weeks. Earlier this month, the state said it needed to suspend data filings in order to reduce its claims processing backlog and implement fraud prevention technology.
The report came as talks in Washington over a economic stimulus deal dragged on amid doubts over whether the negotiations would continue or pause until after the Nov. 3 election.
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