In addition, 426,856 workers submitted to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a program designed to help those who are not eligible for ordinary government benefits, such as gig workers. PUA claims are not adjusted for seasonal fluctuations.
The first claims together were 1.3 million without seasonal adjustments.
Continued jobless claims, which count workers who have applied for benefits for at least two weeks in a row, have dropped slightly to 4.8 million.
A year ago, unemployed claims amounted to about 200,000 each week. So America has a long way to go to get back to that healthy level.
To achieve this, Biden has signed several executive orders aimed at creating new jobs, focusing on green energy jobs that will help America prepare for the economy of the future. The White House also proposed an increase in weekly unemployment benefits as part of a $ 1.9 billion stimulus bill aimed at getting the economy going.
But Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday the priority should be to get the U.S. population vaccinated against Covid-19. No programs can help bring the economy back to normal until the pandemic is under control.
“A lot of adjustments have been made – but you can not adapt hotels, sports halls, cinemas, restaurants, bars. It’s millions and millions of people,” Powell told a news conference.
“And so you’ll just have to beat the pandemic. … It’s really the most important thing in the economy is to get the pandemic under control, get everyone vaccinated, people wearing masks and get it all,” he said. added. “This is the most important economic growth policy we can have.”