In this photo illustration, a person files an application for unemployment benefits on April 16, 2020, in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images) The Federal Reserve might reconsider plans to ease its massive support for the economy if claims stay above 250,000 as the Fed's March policy meeting approaches, Contingent said.While the fast-moving omicron variant may cause less severe disease on average, COVID-19 deaths in the U.S.
are climbing and modelers forecast 50,000 to 300,000 more Americans could die by the time the wave subsides in mid-March.The seven-day rolling average for daily new COVID-19 deaths in the U.S.
has been trending upward since mid-November, reaching nearly 1,800 on Jan. 19 — still below the peak of 3,300 in January 2021.A surge in COVID-19 cases has set back what had been a strong comeback from last year’s short but devastating coronavirus recession.
Jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, had fallen mostly steadily for about a year and late last year dipped below the pre-pandemic average of around 220,000 a week.Altogether, 1.6 million people were collecting jobless aid the week that ended Jan.