Unemployment claims continue to fall in New Hampshire

New Hampshire unemployment claims fell once again for the week ending April 24, showing that the economy might have almost recovered from the pandemic-induced recession, but there was still some troubling news in the latest data on pandemic-related claims, thought that came when cases were still rising.

For the week ending April 24, 1,488 new jobless claims were filed, a 15% decrease from the previous week and the second weekly decline in a row. Still, the number was three times the 495 filed in the week before the pandemic, but only 5% of the 29,379 initial weekly claims filed during at the peak.

Continuing claims – filed by people still collecting benefits – also fell in the week ending April 17, dropping 2%, to 19,968.

Meanwhile, federal continuing claims from the week ending April 10 increased by nearly 20%m to 9,447. Most of these are self-employed individuals, but a good chunk are those who stay home for Covid-related caretaking reasons. But that week was one when cases were going up, perhaps causing some businesses to shut down for a bit.  A clearer picture will emerge in the coming weeks to see if there is any improvement.

Nationally, the numbers budged. Some 553,000 initial traditional claims were filed, 6.000 fewer than the prior week, and 3.7 million continuing claims were filed, the same as reported previously.