Unemployment claims are approaching a month of declines as the labor market offers early signs that it is starting to mend from a steep slowdown.
Economists expect the number of workers applying for unemployment benefits—a proxy for layoffs—fell to 760,000 last week from 779,000 a week earlier. Weekly claims have steadily declined since early January when they exceeded 900,000. Filings remain above the pre-pandemic peak of 695,000.
Employers resumed hiring in January after payrolls fell at the end of 2020, and job openings picked up, driven by growth in industries that have weathered the pandemic relatively well.
The worst of the pandemic’s effects on the job market appear to have passed, said Aneta Markowska, chief economist at Jefferies LLC.
“Things are really starting to improve again in the labor market,” she said.
