Rise in US weekly jobless claims clouds labor market recovery

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 1.106 million for the week ended Aug. 15, from an upwardly revised 971,000 in the prior week. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 925,000 applications in the latest week. (File pic shows US jobless people lining up for unemployment forms. - Reuters)

WASHINGTON: The number of Americans filing a new claim for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly back above the 1 million mark last week, a setback for a struggling U.S. job market crippled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Still, in a sign some rehiring is underway, the rolls of those continuing to receive jobless benefits is slowly declining, the Labor Department reported on Thursday, and other data indicated a recovery from the recession triggered by COVID-19 continues, though at a more fitful pace than earlier.