US jobless claims rise back above one million

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed back above one million last week, official figures show.

The US Labor Department said claims rose to 1.1 million, ahead of economists' forecasts of 925,000.

The rise came as US President Donald Trump faces increased pressure over his handling of the health crisis.

Coronavirus infections continue to spread across the US, prompting local authorities to restrict businesses.

The number of people claiming jobless benefits had fallen in the prior two weeks. Most recently, it dipped below one million to 971,000 for the first time since March in the week to 8 August,

But economists have warned that the recent jobs improvement is at risk of stalling, as health concerns drive people to limit their activity and spending even as reopening continues.

"Today's rise in initial jobless will disappoint the market, especially following last week's promising data," said Richard Flynn, UK managing director at stock broker Charles Schwab.

"While hard-hit industries brought workers back in July, the level of weakness remains unprecedented, and the impact of virus-related rolling shutdowns could continue to reverse some of that improvement."

'Not healthy'

The US economy suffered its sharpest economic contraction in more than 70 years of record keeping in the April-June period, shrinking at an annual rate of 33%.

Although the unemployment rate has fallen from the 14.7% high in April as businesses open and activity resumes, the 10.2% rate recorded in July remains higher than any month during the financial crisis.

(Source: BBC)