US unemployment claims doubled in a week as COVID19 continues to ravage America. Businesses are closing down due to a lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the virus.
Statistics from the Labor Department released Thursday reveal that 6.65 million people filed unemployment claims in the week ended March 28. This was up from the 3.31 million reported the previous week as restaurants and stores close across the nation.
Equiti Global Analyst Gaurav Kashyap says that unemployment figures will pile up as job losses in transportation, food services, manufacturing, retail trade, and constructions continue to mount in the weeks ahead.
However, market reaction to the bulging numbers remains interesting as Gaurav notes, “After the print from last Thursday’s report, US equities barely flinched and similarly with yesterday’s report – after initial sell-off, US equities pared their losses to close the day more than 2% higher”.
The US unemployment rate will rise in the near future with the US Nonfarm payrolls report expected to be released later today at 12:30 GMT (03:30PM EAT). The number could hit 10 million in two weeks as the nonfarm payrolls will only capture data until 12 of March. Gaurav believes that, ” May’s report will be a true indicator of the job situation in the US.”
Elsewhere, the oil prices recorded their biggest-one day gains following President Trump’s statement that he expects an oil production cut from Russia and Saudi Arabia to stabilize the market turmoil.
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