Initial jobless claims in the United States fell for the third week in a row, adding to signs of recovery in the labor market.
Data released by the labor department on Thursday showed that the number of first-time jobless claims in the week ended Aug. 7 was 375000, in line with the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg and down 12000 from the previous week.
The number of continued jobless claims fell to 2.9 million in the week ended July 31.
The number of first-time jobless claims has generally declined so far this year as economic activity picks up and businesses improve and create a record number of job vacancies. Although the decline is expected to continue in the coming months, the delta epidemic poses a risk to Su's pace.
The states with the biggest declines in initial jobless claims last week include Michigan and New York. California saw the largest increase in applications, followed by Virginia and Maryland.
About half of the states ended the epidemic, which was scheduled to expire in September, ahead of schedule to supplement unemployment benefits, on the grounds that supplementary benefits made it harder for companies to recruit. The governors of some of these states have been sued in court to question whether they have the legal authority to stop supplementary relief, which could lead to the resumption of suspended relief in some states until the program officially expires.