Unemployment claims will point out the restoration’s traction.

The labor market’s ability to improve as the economy recovers and the virus recedes will be tested Thursday morning when the government reports the latest data on unemployment claims.

Although the pace of vaccinations and the passage of a $ 1.9 trillion aid package this month have raised economists’ growth expectations, the labor market has lagged other recovery measures.

At 6.2 percent, the unemployment rate is still almost three percentage points above the level in February 2020 before the coronavirus came into force. Initial claims, including regular unemployment insurance and emergency programs, have exceeded a million a week since the fall, partly because some workers have been laid off more than once.

However, the easing of restrictions on indoor dining areas, health clubs, cinemas and other meeting places offers hope for the millions of workers laid off in the past 12 months. And the $ 1,400 checks most Americans receive as part of the utility bill should help keep spending rising in the coming weeks.

“We expect a sharp decline in unemployment claims in the coming weeks when the services sector comes back online,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief economist for high frequency economics in the US. “The labor market will benefit from a reopening, but it will take time for everything to fully recover.”

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