Money & The Economy

Jobless Claims Soar Past Economists Projections

The number of Americans who filed new unemployment claims increased to 286,000 in the week ending Jan. 15, as the labor market continues to recover after surging COVID-19 cases.

The Labor Department figure shows a 55,000 claim increase compared to the week ending Jan. 8 when claims increased to 231,000. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected claims would decrease to 225,000, MarketWatch reported.

COVID-19 cases have continued to soar throughout the country causing weaker growth forecasts, but some experts the Omicron coronavirus variant to further disrupt the demand for workers, the WSJ reported.

“Someone who’s dependable, who’s been on the job for a year and doesn’t need to learn the ropes—you don’t want to lay that person off when you’re expecting a spring thaw” in economic activity, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) economist Nela Richardson told the WSJ.

The U.S. economy added only 199,000 in December 2021, but unemployment fell to 3.9% from November’s 4.2% figure. Meanwhile, roughly 6.5 million Americans remained out of work at the end of 2021 as the economy was still 3.5 million jobs short of pre-pandemic levels.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org

Harry Wilmerding

Share
Published by
Harry Wilmerding
Tags: the economy

Recent Posts

Could Ending ‘Wasteful’ Penny Production Be Trump’s Most Bipartisan Move Yet?

President Donald Trump directed the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies Sunday, citing the…

18 hours ago

ICE Assists Peru’s National Police in Large Joint Operation Against Tren de Aragua Members

LIMA, Peru – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement supported the National Police of Peru in…

18 hours ago

Lost & Found: Brilliant Tips From My Anonymous Genius Readers

Over the years, readers like you have sent me incredible tips — creative, practical and…

18 hours ago