New unemployment claims filed last week increased to 965,000, the highest number since August, the Washington Post reports. Add in people receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the insurance for gig workers, and unemployment claims topped 1.2 million.
According to the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute, this week’s data is “messy” President Trump did not sign a bill expanding unemployment benefits until a day after benefits expired, leading to confusion and some people needing to re-apply for benefits but EPI’s read of the data is that layoffs are increasing as states roll back reopening plans.
Last week, CNN reported that, according to federal data, of the 140,000 jobs lost in December, women and primarily women of color accounted for every single job lost.