US jobless claims stay above 1 million

Initial jobless claims in the United States totaled 1.5 million last week, marking the 13th consecutive week the number has stayed above 1 million, the US Labor Department reported on Thursday.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected 1.3 million new claims to be filed for the week ended on June 13.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs－state and federal combined－for the week ending on May 30 was 29.1 million, a decrease of 375,522 from the previous week, according to the report.

As of Thursday night, more than 2.1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases had been reported in the country, with the death toll surpassing 118,000, according to a data-tracking tool developed by Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the historically high number of workers filing unemployment claims, applications are down significantly since the peak in March, suggesting that the economy and the labor market are recovering from the disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The number of new applications fell by 58,000. That's the fewest number of initial jobless claims filed since mid-March, but it also showed that the pace of job loss hasn't dropped significantly.

The US unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May from 14.7 percent in April.

In May, nonfarm payrolls increased by 2.5 million as states across the nation began to reopen their economies. Retail sales, or sales at stores, online and at restaurants, increased 17.7 percent from April, the Commerce Department reported.

Consumer spending represents about two-thirds of the US economy.

A less sanguine view

A New York analyst offered a less sanguine view of the recovery.

"People will say claims are coming down, but for an economy that's reopening, that's a huge number," Steven Blitz, chief US economist at TS Lombard in New York, told Reuters."The economy is losing workers and employment beyond the initial impact tied to businesses that shut down.

"There are a lot of industries that are getting hurt and that's starting to cascade down; that is what the numbers are showing."

Retail, manufacturing, information technology and energy production companies have announced job cuts. Some state and local governments, whose tax revenues have been reduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, also have had cut jobs.

But the price of oil, a proxy for future economic activity, has rebounded from its low as investors bet on increased demand ahead.

In addition to standard applications for unemployment benefits, there were 760,526 claims filed under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program. The total marked a decrease of 375,522 from the previous week.

The pandemic-induced economic disruption has made it difficult for many people to pay their bills.

The percentage of renters participating in "acute relief" programs in March and April increased 25 percent in the aftermath of the pandemic, said TransUnion, a Chicago-based consumer credit reporting agency.

"Forbearance and deferment programs have given renters a legup during this unexpected economic downturn, and it appears many renters have reduced their immediate debt obligations in the near term," Maitri Johnson, vice-president of TransUnion's tenant and employment department, said in a statement.

The program permits consumers to suspend payments with a lender to increase financial flexibility during the downturn.

The stimulus package signed into law in March allows borrowers to skip student loan payments through September.

The number of student loans in deferment increased to 79 million from 18 million in May, while the number of auto loans in deferment about doubled to 7.3 million accounts. The number of personal loans in the same category doubled to 1.3 million, TransUnion said.

Xinhua contributed to this story.