“These numbers were slightly encouraging,” said Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. That total, which was not seasonally adjusted, was down 55,000 from the week before. Nevertheless, for workers in the hardest-hit industries, conditions are difficult. “It’s been a rough winter, especially for folks in the leisure and hospitality sector and the food sector,” said David Deull, an economist at the research and analysis firm IHS Markit. “They were also the ones to suffer during the initial wave of shutdowns in the spring.”Reopenings have improved the picture, but more layoffs loom.

Source: New York Times February 04, 2021 21:13 UTC