Unemployment Claims Rose Last Week: What You Need To Know

Initial unemployment claims for the week ending Aug. 21 rose by 4,000 to 353,000 — the first-time claims have increased in five weeks.

Even so, the four-week average has declined by 11,500 claims to 366,500. 

What Happened: Claims remain the lowest they have been since the pandemic started affecting American lives in March 2020.
The trends are still largely positive for a recovering economy, according to Department of Labor statistics. 

In July, employment rose by 943,000 and unemployment declined by 5.4%. The unemployment rate remains at 2.1%, where it’s been for the last several weeks. 

The largest declines in unemployment claims were in Kentucky, Michigan and Massachusetts, while the biggest increases were in Virginia, New Mexico and Washington, D.C. 

What Else: RSM economist Joe Brusuelas said he's optimistic about the health and stability of American corporations. 

“US Q2'21 Corporate Profits: Up 9.2% or over $200 billion which is indicative of conditions on the supply side despite the volatility in input costs,” he tweeted Thursday morning. 

Photo: Maxime Agnelli via Unsplash.