US jobless claims grind lower but backlogs, layoffs linger

Millions more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as backlogs in processing claims continue to be cleared and disruptions from the novel coronavirus unleash a second wave of layoffs, pointing to another month of staggering job losses in May.

The Labor Department's weekly jobless claims report, the most timely data on the economy's health, showed a surge to a record high in the number of people on unemployment rolls, suggested that businesses were probably in no rush to rehire workers as they reopen.

A broad shutdown of the country in mid-March to contain the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus, has resulted in the worst unemployment since the Great Depression.

"The states may be opening back up, but the labor market is still closed for millions across America and the loss of the income and spending of those without jobs will be a considerable headwind for this economic recovery," said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 249,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.438 million in the week ended May 16, the government said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised to show 294,000 fewer applications received than previously reported, bringing down the tally for the week ending May to 2.687 million from 2.981 million. The states of Connecticut said last week it had misreported its numbers.

Last week's claims reading was in line with economists' expectations, and marked the seventh straight weekly decline.

There was some encouraging news. A survey from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve on Thursday showed businesses in the mid-Atlantic region were increasingly optimistic, as the six-month outlook jumped to a 2-1/2 year high in May.

Claims have been gradually declining since hitting a record 6.867 million in the week ended March 28.