The impact of the new crown epidemic on the US economy continues. The US Department of Labor data on June 4 showed that the number of first-time jobless claims in the United States reached 1.877 million last week, slightly higher than the market’s expectation of 1.8 million. The previous value was 2.123 million, which has fallen for 9 consecutive weeks.

In addition, in the week of May 23, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits in the United States was 21.487 million, which is expected to be 20.05 million, and the previous value was 21.052 million. In the past eleven weeks, as states have closed a large number of non-essential businesses to curb the spread of the new crown virus, the total number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits has reached nearly 43 million.

However, some economists believe that the continued decline in the number of jobless claims may indicate a turning point in the US unemployment rate. “USA Today” quoted Ian Shepherdson, chief economist of the Pantheon Macroeconomics Research Company, as saying that if this trend continues, the number may drop to less than 1 million by the end of June.

Pittsburgh Financial Services Group Chief Economist Gus Fletcher said that after two months of historic losses, due to the state’s Necessary companies reopen, and US employment may resume growth in June, although not by much.

It’s worth noting that the US Department of Labor will announce the May US non-agricultural employment report tomorrow. Previous data showed that the number of non-agricultural employment in the United States decreased by 20.5 million in April this year, and the previous value was 701,000. The decline was a record high in 1939. The unemployment rate for the month reached 14.7%, more than tripled from 4.4% in March, the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s.