Jobs Report Thursday September 30, 2021

Washington, D.C. – The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims increased for the third consecutive week in the week ending September 25th, defying market expectations of a decline to 335 thousand and moving further away from the pandemic low of 312 thousand reached earlier in the month.

While factors related to the pandemic, such as caregiving needs and ongoing fears of the virus, continue to limit job gains, the pace of hiring has been showing signs of recovery amid companies’ efforts to fill widespread vacancies and as more workers return to the labor force due to the end of federal enhanced unemployment benefits.
California (up 18.0 thousand), Michigan (up 6.4 thousand), and Texas (up 6.4 thousand) all saw significant increases in the number of claims on a non-seasonally adjusted basis (up 3.3 thousand)

The four-week moving average of US jobless claims, which smooths out week-to-week fluctuations, increased to 340.0 thousand in the week ending September 25th, up from 335.75 thousand the week before.

Continuing jobless claims in the United States fell to 2.802 million in the week ending September 18th, down from a revised 2.820 million the week before and in line with market expectations of 2.800 million.