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Jobless claims fall to 385,000

Total is a decrease from the previous week despite rising number of coronavirus cases.

A sign from Appalachian Regional Healthcare seeking job applications is seen at a job fair at a community center in Beattyville, Ky., on July 28. (Jon Cherry/Bloomberg News)
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An estimated 385,000 Americans filed initial unemployment claims last week, a drop from the previous week despite a new increase in coronavirus cases, according to data released Thursday morning by the Labor Department.

The drop in unemployment claims comes as concerns grow about the effect that the surging delta variant of the virus is having on the economy and the labor market. In mid-July, claims had spiked to their highest level in a few months but have now fallen for two straight weeks.

The figures reported Thursday are down significantly from the record highs of last year, but they remain nearly double the pre-pandemic averages.

An additional 94,000 people filed initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the program for gig and self-employed workers. The total number of jobless benefit claims for all forms of unemployment insurance was about 13 million as of mid-July, according to the most recent available data.

The rising caseloads nationwide have greatly concerned public health experts, and raised questions about whether the country’s economic recovery will be jeopardized.

But there are signs that consumer activity remains high, as restaurant reservations remain close to 2019 levels, as tracked by Open Table, and air travel, as measured by TSA checkpoint data, remain strong. The 2.2 million people who went through checkpoints on Sunday made for the highest number since the pandemic began.

Economists hope that school reopenings will help drive an uptick in the labor market in the fall as the country seeks to regain about 6.8 million jobs that have not come back yet from the beginning of the pandemic.

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