Under the impact of Omicron, the number of initial unemployment claims in the United States increased by 55,000

This Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor released the number of initial unemployment claims in the United States for the week ending January 15. The data showed that the number of initial unemployment claims reached 286,000, compared with 231,000 in the previous week, a significant increase of 55,000, a three-month high.

The four-week average of initial jobless claims in the United States for the week ending January 15 was 231,000, also higher than the 211,000 in the previous week. In addition, the number of people continuing to apply for unemployment benefits in the United States for the week ending January 8 also increased to 1.635 million, an increase of 84,000 from the previous week.

In this light, the data released this week are not clear overall. Some analysts said that the increase in the number of people receiving benefits is because the spread of the new strain of Omicron may cause companies to lay off employees. In addition, the Omicron infection wave has disrupted business activities, which may limit job growth this month.

Data shows that the number of Omicron tests in the United States has reached more than 13 million per day recently, and the number of new infections has also increased sharply. The United States reports an average of 732,245 new coronavirus cases per day.

The increase in initial claims could mean that employers are laying off workers during the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Even so, the impact of layoffs could be short-lived as companies are eager to retain and attract talent amid the current labor shortage.

Employers are desperate for workers, with 10.6 million job openings at the end of November. The unemployment rate is 3.9%, a 22-month low, suggesting the labor market is at or near full employment.

As far as initial jobless claims are concerned, the current number of more than 200,000 seems relatively small compared to the more than 6 million in April last year.

“If Omicron is truly the last wave of the pandemic and life returns to normal by March, then economic activity should rebound strongly in the second quarter,” said David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. “But if the pandemic persists, leisure and entertainment spending and labor supply are likely to remain suppressed throughout the year.”

Omicron

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