Almost 10 Months Later, Jobless Claims Remain Stuck Above Pre-Pandemic Record Highs

787,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, 3,000 more than the previous week's revised level. Consensus was looking for 800,000. The latest "real-time" read on the labor market does little to change a familiar narrative: Momentum is seemingly lost, undercut by the winter COVID surge and associated lockdowns. It goes without saying that the five-month delay in delivering another stimulus package exacerbated an already tenuous situation. We are now nearly 10 months into the