Falling Claims Signal Upside for Friday’s Labor Report
08/05/2021
First-time filings for state unemployment benefits fell for the second straight week, while continuing benefit claims dropped to the lowest level since March 2020. More importantly, total claims for both state and federal programs continued to decline. From the beginning of June to mid-July, total claims are 1.8 million lower. This recent drop is reflective of states opting-out of federal benefits early in hopes that workers will return to fill vacant positions.
