US initial jobless claims remained above a million last week, according to data released on Thursday. According to analysts at Wells Fargo, the up and down moves of recent weeks underscore that the recovery will be slow-going as long as the COVID-19 continues to circulate.

Key Quotes: 

“While claims have moved up and down in recent weeks, on net, the trend is improving—but only gradually. New claims for regular state benefits came in right at 1.0M, still higher than any week during the Great Recession.”

“The drop in initial claims shows that the labor market is heading in the right direction, but there remains a long way to go.”

“The snail’s pace of improvement in claims suggests that the next leg of the labor market’s recovery will be much slower going.”