The latest data from the Department of Labor shattered the little hope that people had in an economic recovery.
The number of people applying for unemployment benefits last week was higher than expected. For the week ending August 15, 1.106 million jobless claims have been reported. Analysts were looking for 930,000.
The reported spike in claims came as Congress is trying to reach a consensus regarding the new stimulus package. Currently, it’s been one month without the $600/week benefit for people that lost their jobs on behalf of the pandemic.
Also, experts believe this spike to be either an increase in layoffs or a pause in the number of people going back to work after the second wave of infections.
After the report, USA30 fell 0.4%, while USA500 traded 0.5% lower. TECH100 lost 0.5%.
Read previous unemployment claims reports on CAPEX.com!
Sources: forexfactory.com, cnbc.com