WASHINGTON — The number of unemployment benefit claims filed across the United States fell last week, another sign that the U.S. job market and economy continue their steady recovery from last year’s coronavirus recession. In Maine, claims ticked upward from a pandemic low the previous week.

Unemployment claims fell by 38,000 to 326,000, the first drop in four weeks, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. Since surpassing 900,000 in early January, the weekly applications, a proxy for layoffs, had fallen more or less steadily all year. Still, they remain elevated from pre-pandemic levels: Before COVID-19 hammered the U.S. economy in March 2020, weekly claims were consistently coming in at around 220,000.

In Maine, initial claims filed for jobless benefits increased to 700 last week from a pandemic low of about 600 the previous week, according to the Maine Department of Labor.

In addition to roughly 600 claims for state benefits, about 100 new claims for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance were filed by Mainers last week. Those claims were retroactive to before the federal program ended in September and are still valid.

Continuing weekly claims, an indicator of prolonged unemployment, fell to 6,050 in Maine from about 7,000 claims the previous week, as participation in now-expired federal aid programs continued to wind down. About 5,900 continuing claims were filed for state benefits, and the remaining 150 were for federal benefits.

The job market has been rebounding with surprising strength since the spring of 2020. Forced to shut down or restrict hours as a health precaution, employers slashed more than 22 million jobs in March and April last year. But massive aid from the federal government and the rollout of vaccines has supported an economic recovery, providing consumers with the financial wherewithal to spend and the confidence to return to restaurants, bars and shops.

So far this year, employers have been adding 586,000 jobs a month, and this month’s employment report, due Friday, is expected to show they tacked on another 488,000 in September, according to a survey of economists by the data firm FactSet.

Companies are now complaining that they can’t find workers fast enough to fill a surge in job openings, a record 10.9 million in July.

Altogether, 2.7 million Americans were receiving some type of jobless aid the week of Sept. 25. In early September, the federal government stopped additional aid – including $300 a week on top of traditional state benefits – that was meant to ease the economic impact of the pandemic.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.