US jobless claims fall, easing market fears

Washington

APPLICATIONS for unemployment benefits in the US declined last week by more than projected, easing concerns of a renewed downturn in the labour market after several large states reported a pickup in Covid-19 cases.

Initial jobless claims in regular state programmes fell by 99,000 - the most in a month - to 1.31 million in the week ended July 4, Labor Department data showed on Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 1.375 million.