Unemployment Claims Increase for Two Straight Weeks

In the last two reported weeks of unemployment claims, the numbers have been on their way up again. The U.S. Department of Labor reported 19 straight weeks of unemployment claims topping the 1 million mark. While the number of Americans filing for unemployment has come down notably from the peaks topping 6 million claims seen in the last week of March and the first week of April, volumes remain historically high and, in fact, are rising again. Over 1.4 million people filed for unemployment in the week-ending July 25, about in line with the nine-week average of 1.5 million claims. The most reserved week during the past 19 reported was the week-ending July 11, when 1.3 million initial unemployment claims were filed before the numbers climbed again in the last two reported weeks. In contrast, during the first 11 weeks of 2020, unemployment claims averaged at a much more reserved 246,000 filings per week.