Another 965,000 people submitted a seasonally adjusted base in the United States for the first time for unemployment benefits last week, the Department of Labor reported Thursday.
It was significantly higher than the previous week, in which 784,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits.
Weekly demands for the first time without a job sit at an uncomfortably high level. At the end of August, the figure dropped to below 1 million, but since then it has been difficult to make significant improvements – and last week it was a big step in the wrong direction.
In addition to ordinary claims, 284,470 employees filed claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. The program provides assistance to people such as the self-employed or gig workers, who are not covered under regular benefits. After the program was extended with the new stimulus agreement, it will now end in March.
In total, initial benefit claims last week were 1.4 million, excluding seasonal adjustments.
Continued claims, which count workers who have been demanding help for at least two weeks in a row, stand at 5.3 million in the week ended January 2.
This is an evolving story. It will be updated