U.S. jobless claims rise

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose this past week despite signs that the U.S. labor market is rebounding from the coronavirus recession.

Jobless claims nationwide climbed by 18,000 to a 206,000, still low by historical standards.

The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell by 16,000 to less than 204,000, the lowest level since mid-November 1969, according to U.S. Department of Labor figures released Thursday.

Altogether, 1.8 million Americans were receiving traditional jobless benefits the week that ended Dec. 4 — down by 154,000 from the previous week.

In Iowa, both first-time and continuing claims were up slightly over the previous week. Initial applications were recorded at 3,947, up from 3,671 the previous week.

Continuing claims stood at 12,688 — a rise from 11,913 the week before.

Weekly claims, which are a proxy for layoffs, have fallen steadily most of the year nationally since topping 900,000 one week in early January.

They now are below to the 220,000-a-week level typical before the coronavirus pandemic slammed the U.S. economy in March 2020.

In March and April last year, employers shed a staggering 22.4 million jobs.

Since April 2020, the United States has regained nearly 18.5 million jobs. But the economy still is 3.9 million jobs short of where it stood in February 2020, and COVID-19 variants such as omicron pose a risk to the recovery.

Employers added a disappointing 210,000 jobs last month. But the November jobs report also showed that the unemployment rate dropped to a pandemic low of 4.2 percent from 4.6 percent in October.