Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
- Latest: US initial jobless claims drop, but still high
- UK factories fear supply and labour shortages
- Markets rally on Biden $1.9trn stimulus hopes
- Wall Street hit record highs last night
- Pound at eight-month high vs euro; 32-month high vs dollar
1.47pm GMT
Kathy Bostjancic of Oxford Economics says there is some good news in this week’s US jobless report, but the number of people seeking help overall is little changed:
Regular initial jobless claims (SA) fall 26k to still high 900K and continuing claims -127K to 5.05mn in the latest weeks. And overall individuals on benefits fall to 16.4mn from 18mn. Some good news, but total initial jobless claims (NSA) were little changed at a high 1.38mn pic.twitter.com/99V2zJ5aKy
1.42pm GMT
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth have summarised the key points from today’s US jobless report:
For the week ending January 16, 960,668 workers filed for regular #unemploymentbenefits. Initial regular claims have now remained above 700k for 44 weeks. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/hiqLnEzZDO
States reported that another 423,734 workers filed for initial #PUA, which extended UI to some workers who are not eligible for regular benefits. In total, 1.4 million workers filed initial PUA or regular unemployment benefits last week. 2/4
Regular continued claims, also referred to as insured unemployment, fell to 5.56 million the week ending January 9. Adding all Unemployment Insurance programs—including PUA, PEUC, and Extended Benefits—a total 16 million workers claimed benefits the week ending January 2. 3/4 pic.twitter.com/1bEtnJbruX
The Coronavirus Recession continues to expose cracks in the Unemployment Insurance system. Read @alixgouldwerth’s brief on how policymakers can address some of its key structural problems. 4/4 https://t.co/FZEwiOsYox
