(Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits was higher than forecast for a second straight week, adding to signs that the recovery is cooling amid a pickup in coronavirus cases.
Initial jobless claims in regular state programs fell to 1.48 million last week from an upwardly revised 1.54 million in the prior week, Labor Department data showed Thursday.
Read more: Bloomberg’s TOPLive blog on Thursday’s economic data
Continuing claims, which track the overall pool of recipients and are reported with a one-week lag, remain on only a gradual decline, falling to 19.5 million in the week ended June 13.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had forecast Thursday’s report to show 1.32 million initial claims and 20 million continuing claims.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.