Trump’s economic adviser and FreedomWorks economist Stephen Moore shares his views on the latest stimulus package.
The number of Americans filing unemployment benefits for the first time went down unexpectedly last week, even as an increase in COVID-19 infections and new restrictions to curb the spread of the virus outweigh the recovery in the labor market.
Figures released by the Department of Labor on Thursday show that 787,000 Americans filed unemployment claims for the first time in the week ending Jan. 2, below the 800,000 forecasts of Refinitiv economists.
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The number is almost four times the level before the crisis, but it is well below the peak of almost 7 million reached when stay-at-home orders were first issued in March. Nearly 70 million Americans, or about 40% of the workforce, applied for unemployment benefits during the pandemic.
The number of people still receiving unemployment benefits fell to 5.0702 million, a decrease of about 126 000 compared to the previous week. The report shows that approximately 19.1. million Americans received a kind of unemployed benefit until December 19th.
The latest data on unemployment comes after President Trump signed a $ 900 billion coronavirus relief bill that would send direct payments of up to $ 600 to Americans earning less than $ 87,000, increase unemployment benefits by mid-March by $ 300, and two federal programs which increases unemployment benefits, expanding to about 13 million people.
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Because many non-working Americans needed their 26 weeks of stateless aid, they switched to obtaining the money through the PEUC. According to Labor Department data, there are about 7.3 million workers receiving PUA benefits and about 4.6 million receiving PEUC benefits.
At least eight states began paying out the extra $ 300 a week in unemployment benefits this week, and more are expected to follow in mid-January. Dismissed workers in California, New York, Arizona, Connecticut, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Texas is expected to receive the first round of sweetened benefits this week, according to state labor agencies.