The effect shutdown makes itself felt on the American labor market. The number of American workers who applied for the unemployment benefit in the United States it jumped to 374 thousand units, 66 thousand more than the previous week. Analysts had forecast a much more contained rise, to 312.
However, the US government specified that, as in the past few weeks, errors in the communication of data by some states could have weighed on the figure. Specifically, California is having trouble delivering complete data due to technical issues related to the move to a new computer system that made it impossible to receive or track all requests.
The four-week average, more reliable as it is not subject to market fluctuations, grew by 20 units to 325. The figure remains below 400 units, a threshold which according to economists signals a stalemate.
The total number of workers who received unemployment benefits for more than one week – relating to the week ending 28 September, the last for which data is available – dropped by 16 units, to two million and 905 thousand.
