The economic recovery south of the border appears to be somewhat stuck in neutral.
Figures released Thursday by the U.S. Labor Department revealed first-time claims for unemployment benefits totaled 840,000 last week, higher than expected in another sign that the spike in job growth over the summer has cooled heading into the final part of the year.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting 825,000 new claims.
Though the total was a bit worse than Wall Street expected, it still represented a modest decline from the upwardly revised 849,000 from a week ago.
Claims have been above 800,000 every wee since mid-March, the same month the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, leading to the shutdown of the U.S. economy.
However, the department adds, continuing claims again fell sharply, dropping by just over one million to 10.98 million. Continuing claims trail the headline weekly claims number by a week. The insured unemployment rate, a basic measure of the workforce compared to those collecting benefits, also slid to 7.5% from 8.2%.
