Washington- The number of Americans who are applying for the unemployment benefits has increased significantly due to the Omicron spread as it was recorded highest in mid-November, but still has a low record according to historic standards.
According to the Department of Labor, the US jobless claim climbed up by 23,000 last week to 230,000. Moreover, the four-week moving average of the unemployment in the US smooths out by rising nearly from 6300 to 211,000 almost.
The weekly applications which have been received for the proxy layoffs have also risen for the past five weeks as there has been a constant period that runs in tandem with the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. However, the jobs market has also bounced back very strongly from the recession caused due to coronavirus last year. In addition, the jobless claims have fallen most steadily for around a year which dipped below the pre-pandemic average of around 220,000 a week.
“The rise in claims likely reflects an increase in layoffs due to the surge in COVID cases,” said economists Nancy Vanden Houten and Kathy Bostjancic of Oxford Economics. “Claims may remain elevated in the near term, but we expect initial claims will gravitate back to the 200k level once the omicron wave passes. Encouragingly, there are indications that cases from the omicron variant are peaking.”
According to the ABC news, “Companies are holding onto workers at a time when it’s difficult to find replacements. Employers posted 10.6 million job openings in November, the fifth-highest monthly total in records going back to 2000. A record 4.5 million workers quit their jobs in November — a sign that they are confident enough to look something better.”
“The future path of the pandemic remains highly uncertain, but the underlying job market narrative overall continues be one of scarcity of available applicants and workers,” Hamrick said. “The latest wrinkle, the high level of individuals testing positive, becoming ill or staying away from work, has added to supply chain disruptions with inflation already running red-hot.”
Still, the unemployment rate fell last month to a pandemic low 3.9%.
