New Hampshire unemployment claims dropped sharply last week
17.3% drop reported, but still over 5,000 new claims were filed
After a three-week plateau, both initial and continuing unemployment claims dropped substantially last week in New Hampshire, indicating that the state’s reopening is bringing some people back to work.
Some 5,276 people filed initial claims in the week ending June 20, 1,155 less than the previous week’s revised figure, a 17.3% drop.
But that’s still more than 10 times the 473 claims filed in the week ending March 7, before the Covid-19 pandemic infected the state’s economy. In other words, three months into this economic crisis, lots of people are still getting laid off.
But there are more people going back to work. That’s also the story of continuing claims – those already laid off and who can’t find work (or under the Covid eligibility rules can’t work because they can’t find child care or if they are sick, are quarantine or take care of someone infected with the virus.)
Some 92,132 Granite Staters filed continuing claims the week ending June 13 (continuing claims data lags a week behind new claims), a drop of 6,308, or 6.4%.
Nationally 1.48 million initial claims were reported for the week ending June 20, a 4% decline, bringing the total the number to 47 million claims filed since the middle of March.
