Jobless claims rise slightly to 353,000

The number of Americans filing initial claims for jobless benefits rose for the first time in five weeks, even though the economy and job market have been recovering briskly from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims edged up to 353,000 from 349,000 a week earlier. The weekly count has fallen more or less steadily since topping 900,000 in early January, helped by the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines that has encouraged businesses to reopen and has lured consumers out of their homes to restaurants, bars and shops. But a resurgence of cases linked to the highly contagious Delta variant has clouded the economic outlook.  "The downward trend in claims continues, despite the Covid-Delta wave, presumably because the bar to letting staff go is very high, given the tightness of the labor market," Ian Shepherson, chief economist with Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a research note. "Firms can't be sure they'll be able to rehire people laid off now."