Unemployment Claims Have the Largest Increase Since March 2020

Mish
Initial Claims Trend Turns Up

Initial claims bottomed at 711,000 on November 7, 2020 and have been rising in a choppy fashion since then.
Continued Claims

Continued claims lag initial claims by a week. Continued claims appear to have bottomed and likely have.Â
A number of people dropped off the rolls because they expired all of their weekly benefits.Â
Although Congress extended emergency benefits such as PUA and PEUC, those programs expired for a short while. Numbers for those programs are even more distorted so I will wait for a bit to comment. Â
Jobs Recovery Has Gone Into Reverse

Last Friday I noted Jobs Decline for the First Time in 8 Months
Today's unemployment claims number strengthen the idea the jobs recovery has stalled.
Mish