Good news came in from the U.S. Department of Labor. The number of people who filed for unemployment for the first time is smaller than expected. The actual number was 1.314 million, from a forecast of 1.375 million. In spite of positive data, it is the 15th consecutive week when the claims are over 1 million.
The continuing claims fell by 698,000 from last week’s 18.06 million.
It could be good news, since the CARES Act program will end in just a few weeks, leaving millions without the $600 per week compensation. Still, Congress and the White House are working together to extend the program, and at the moment, no one can predict which way the things will go.
However, analysts believe that something distressing is going in the labor markets, as roughly 30 million people are unemployed. The number of weekly unemployment claims could go up again due to the second wave of infections.
The market didn’t fail to react. USA30 is trading lower by 0.3%, while USA500 has a fall of 0.1%. TECH100 is unbothered and is higher by 0.3%.
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Sources: forexfactory.com, cnbc.com